I wonder, despite the Malaysian government and its toadies claim on our being a country with strong ICT, getting access to internet would be difficult in our Malaysian jails. Especially when Internet penetration is still rather low in most areas here. Anyway, read the story by following the link below:
http://www.manalaa.net/alaa_blogs_from_prison
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Iran and badge hoax ala the Nazis.
This following the big cartoon hoohah in many Muslim dominant countries. I suppose they wouldn't be too concerned here since no holy person is being blasphemed or slandered. Just the "model" Islamic country.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Iran summons Canadian ambassador in dress-code row
AFP
Wed May 24, 12:38 PM ET
Iran summoned Ottowa's ambassador to Tehran over criticisms made by Canada's premier in response to an inaccurate news report that Iran aimed to force a dress code on non-Muslims.
"Canadians are following a bad trend. We have summoned the Canadian ambassador and objected to the Canadian prime minister's unwise comments," foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said according to the ISNA news agency.
"We invite the Canadians to be deeper in their comments. It is not good for an official to make comments based on wrong information," he added.
The report appeared Friday in Canada's National Post newspaper, alleging that Iran had approved a law to force non-Muslims to wear colored badges in public so they could be identified.
Canadian premier Stephen Harper reacted by saying he had only seen reports about the law but that he would not be surprised by them.
"Unfortunately, we have seen enough already from the Iranian regime to suggest that it is very capable of this kind of action," he said.
"It think it boggles the mind that any regime on the face of the earth would want to do anything that could remind people of Nazi Germany," Harper added.
The newspaper had quoted human rights groups as saying the public dress code would require non-Muslims to wear special insignia.
Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians would be forced to wear a yellow, red or blue strip of cloth, respectively, on the front of their clothes, it said.
However, the report was quickly and strongly denied by Iran's only Jewish MP, Maurice Motammed.
"This report is a complete fabrication and is totally false... It is a lie, and the people who invented it wanted to make political gain" by doing so," he told AFP.
Motammed said he had been present in parliament when a bill to promote "an Iranian and Islamic style of dress for women" was voted. "In the law, there is no mention of religious minorities," he added.
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AFP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Agence France Presse.
__________________________________________________________________________________
National Post apologizes for anti-Iran story
-Reuters
Wed May 24, 12:31 PM ET
A Canadian newspaper apologized on Wednesday for a story that said Iran planned to force Jews and other religious minorities to wear distinctive clothing to distinguish themselves from Muslims.
The conservative National Post ran the story on its front page last Friday along with a large photo from 1944 which showed a Hungarian couple wearing the yellow stars that the Nazis forced Jews to sew to their clothing.
The story, which included tough anti-Iran comments from prominent Jewish groups, was picked up widely by Web sites and by other media.
"Is Iran turning into the new Nazi Germany? Share your opinion online," the paper asked readers last Friday.
But the National Post, a long-time supporter of Israel and critic of Tehran, admitted on Wednesday it had not checked the piece thoroughly enough before running it.
"It is now clear the story is not true," National Post editor-in-chief Douglas Kelly wrote in a long editorial on page 2. "We apologize for the mistake and for the consternation it has caused not just National Post readers, but the broader public who read the story."
The story was based on a column by Iranian expatriate writer Amir Taheri, who said a law being debated by Iran's parliament would force Jews to sew a yellow strip of cloth to their clothes. Christians would wear a red strip while Zoroastrians would wear a blue one.
Iranian legislators dismissed the story.
The story and the column appeared at a time when the international community is pressuring Tehran over its nuclear program. Iran is also under fire for comments by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in which he doubted the scale of the Holocaust.
Asked about the Post story last Friday, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Iran "is very capable of this kind of action." He added: "It boggles the mind that any regime on the face of the Earth would want to do anything that could remind people of Nazi Germany."
A spokesman for Harper said the prime minister had started off his comments with the words "If this is true."
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Iran summons Canadian ambassador in dress-code row
AFP
Wed May 24, 12:38 PM ET
Iran summoned Ottowa's ambassador to Tehran over criticisms made by Canada's premier in response to an inaccurate news report that Iran aimed to force a dress code on non-Muslims.
"Canadians are following a bad trend. We have summoned the Canadian ambassador and objected to the Canadian prime minister's unwise comments," foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said according to the ISNA news agency.
"We invite the Canadians to be deeper in their comments. It is not good for an official to make comments based on wrong information," he added.
The report appeared Friday in Canada's National Post newspaper, alleging that Iran had approved a law to force non-Muslims to wear colored badges in public so they could be identified.
Canadian premier Stephen Harper reacted by saying he had only seen reports about the law but that he would not be surprised by them.
"Unfortunately, we have seen enough already from the Iranian regime to suggest that it is very capable of this kind of action," he said.
"It think it boggles the mind that any regime on the face of the earth would want to do anything that could remind people of Nazi Germany," Harper added.
The newspaper had quoted human rights groups as saying the public dress code would require non-Muslims to wear special insignia.
Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians would be forced to wear a yellow, red or blue strip of cloth, respectively, on the front of their clothes, it said.
However, the report was quickly and strongly denied by Iran's only Jewish MP, Maurice Motammed.
"This report is a complete fabrication and is totally false... It is a lie, and the people who invented it wanted to make political gain" by doing so," he told AFP.
Motammed said he had been present in parliament when a bill to promote "an Iranian and Islamic style of dress for women" was voted. "In the law, there is no mention of religious minorities," he added.
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AFP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Agence France Presse.
__________________________________________________________________________________
National Post apologizes for anti-Iran story
-Reuters
Wed May 24, 12:31 PM ET
A Canadian newspaper apologized on Wednesday for a story that said Iran planned to force Jews and other religious minorities to wear distinctive clothing to distinguish themselves from Muslims.
The conservative National Post ran the story on its front page last Friday along with a large photo from 1944 which showed a Hungarian couple wearing the yellow stars that the Nazis forced Jews to sew to their clothing.
The story, which included tough anti-Iran comments from prominent Jewish groups, was picked up widely by Web sites and by other media.
"Is Iran turning into the new Nazi Germany? Share your opinion online," the paper asked readers last Friday.
But the National Post, a long-time supporter of Israel and critic of Tehran, admitted on Wednesday it had not checked the piece thoroughly enough before running it.
"It is now clear the story is not true," National Post editor-in-chief Douglas Kelly wrote in a long editorial on page 2. "We apologize for the mistake and for the consternation it has caused not just National Post readers, but the broader public who read the story."
The story was based on a column by Iranian expatriate writer Amir Taheri, who said a law being debated by Iran's parliament would force Jews to sew a yellow strip of cloth to their clothes. Christians would wear a red strip while Zoroastrians would wear a blue one.
Iranian legislators dismissed the story.
The story and the column appeared at a time when the international community is pressuring Tehran over its nuclear program. Iran is also under fire for comments by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in which he doubted the scale of the Holocaust.
Asked about the Post story last Friday, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Iran "is very capable of this kind of action." He added: "It boggles the mind that any regime on the face of the Earth would want to do anything that could remind people of Nazi Germany."
A spokesman for Harper said the prime minister had started off his comments with the words "If this is true."
Thursday, May 18, 2006
When you are at sea... Part 1
I know that I am a Malaysian, but beyond that I have no identity. I have no first language, and a strong heritage to anything to call my own. Even if I have a strong affinity to the English Language, its cultural load comes to me but second hand, through books I read, through travels and the mass media. Malaysia does not quite have a culture in English, even during our colonial past. Whatever "Englishness" we have is shallow and based on stereotypical and rose-tinted assumptions on the land. Some anglophiles who might have never visited the land think that it had not changed in the last 50 years, some only acquaint themselves with the richer class and areas and some perhaps hold on to a dream of greener pastures. Anyhow, my post here is not to talk about Englishness, the English Language or Anglophiles, beyond that which is relevant to me. Because, from the time I was a young child, I was an Anglophile, until my growing years cast aside the fairytale and reality hits. I was more acquainted with the literature of England and its neighbours than I was with the literature of the region I grew up in. Perhaps it could be due to the influence exerted by my mother. She never told me about anything that might pertain to my heritage, either as a Chinese or a Malaysian. She decided that the schools will do that job for her. Or perhaps, being educated in an English-medium, girls school through her growing years had alienated her from her roots. But I ask, you ask, what roots? That, my dear readers, is the core and centre of my dilemma.
Despite my activism, despite my interest in Malaysian history (come lately) and culture, despite all that I try to do to acquaint myself further with this land of exotic possibilities, I remain defeated. True enough, I was educated in the national schools, in the years when the nationalists held sway, when English was derided and relegated to the back burner and Malay is the "it" language. But, why is it then, that I can no longer bury myself in its idiom, its heritage and its soul? When I write in that language, I do not have the cultural scaffold, or backbone, to support my immersion into that language. Despite the fact that the very first story I wrote, at the age of 9, was written in Malay, and full of imaginaries gleaned from the Malay story books I read. Now, my language has become course, has become post-modern and so very unrefined. Lacking, as my friends say, the feel and root of Malayness. Going by the policies and acceptable norms in this country, am I doomed to obscurity should I ever propose to produce literary works in Malay? Or do I have to go to some village and live among the people to capture their rhythm as they go about their lives?
What about the Chinese Language or culture? Alas, my almost illiterate grasp of the written form has made it harder to acquaint myself with the ins and outs of the Chinese culture, beyond hearsay and oral transmission. I have tried learning a traditinal Chinese instrument, took up Chinese martial arts for awhile in a class taught by a teacher from China, and even mix with many Chinese-centric friends with strong roots in their culture (unlike myself) just to see if I can find my "roots". I know I feel alienated when talking to my older relatives because I lack enough vocabulary for a smooth conversation (except periods when I've been so immersed in the language that the words just come pouring out), and had been poked fun at by Chinese friends who used me as an easy target for teasing and bullying due to my inability to defend myself properly in that tongue (this was during my school years). It is only recently that my vocabulary has expanded, though my reading and writing skills are still, alas, elementary.
Though I am not a Malay by birth, I feel more at home with the language than I do in Chinese. In fact, I have less problems conversing with old Malay folks who speak only Malay than old Chinese folks that speak only Chinese. IN fact, there was a time when I knew many Malay proverbs, but had discarded knowledge of them when I though I would concentrate on the sciences, because I did not feel accepted by most in the community while at a local university. Nevertheless, I'll never be accepted as part of the race, because of my ethnicity and religion.
Now, let's go back to talking about being an Anglophile. I used to think in varied languages, though the dominant language I think in is English. But so what? I may never gain employment from majoring in English because the poor quality of English education I have received. My parents could not afford to send me to elite schools, and I was never accepted to any elite boarding schools in my country. And I was too ignorant and too ordinary to get scholarships to elite schools elsewhere. As I said earlier, my acquaintance with the baggage carried by the English Language in its original form is second hand, but I can placate myself with the fact that English is no longer the language of the Anglos but also of everyone else worldwide. We use proper grammar (and that, I sometimes still have problems with) but we can insert whatever the colour that we wish into the dialect.
Anyway, I've to get to work. So, this will continue...
Despite my activism, despite my interest in Malaysian history (come lately) and culture, despite all that I try to do to acquaint myself further with this land of exotic possibilities, I remain defeated. True enough, I was educated in the national schools, in the years when the nationalists held sway, when English was derided and relegated to the back burner and Malay is the "it" language. But, why is it then, that I can no longer bury myself in its idiom, its heritage and its soul? When I write in that language, I do not have the cultural scaffold, or backbone, to support my immersion into that language. Despite the fact that the very first story I wrote, at the age of 9, was written in Malay, and full of imaginaries gleaned from the Malay story books I read. Now, my language has become course, has become post-modern and so very unrefined. Lacking, as my friends say, the feel and root of Malayness. Going by the policies and acceptable norms in this country, am I doomed to obscurity should I ever propose to produce literary works in Malay? Or do I have to go to some village and live among the people to capture their rhythm as they go about their lives?
What about the Chinese Language or culture? Alas, my almost illiterate grasp of the written form has made it harder to acquaint myself with the ins and outs of the Chinese culture, beyond hearsay and oral transmission. I have tried learning a traditinal Chinese instrument, took up Chinese martial arts for awhile in a class taught by a teacher from China, and even mix with many Chinese-centric friends with strong roots in their culture (unlike myself) just to see if I can find my "roots". I know I feel alienated when talking to my older relatives because I lack enough vocabulary for a smooth conversation (except periods when I've been so immersed in the language that the words just come pouring out), and had been poked fun at by Chinese friends who used me as an easy target for teasing and bullying due to my inability to defend myself properly in that tongue (this was during my school years). It is only recently that my vocabulary has expanded, though my reading and writing skills are still, alas, elementary.
Though I am not a Malay by birth, I feel more at home with the language than I do in Chinese. In fact, I have less problems conversing with old Malay folks who speak only Malay than old Chinese folks that speak only Chinese. IN fact, there was a time when I knew many Malay proverbs, but had discarded knowledge of them when I though I would concentrate on the sciences, because I did not feel accepted by most in the community while at a local university. Nevertheless, I'll never be accepted as part of the race, because of my ethnicity and religion.
Now, let's go back to talking about being an Anglophile. I used to think in varied languages, though the dominant language I think in is English. But so what? I may never gain employment from majoring in English because the poor quality of English education I have received. My parents could not afford to send me to elite schools, and I was never accepted to any elite boarding schools in my country. And I was too ignorant and too ordinary to get scholarships to elite schools elsewhere. As I said earlier, my acquaintance with the baggage carried by the English Language in its original form is second hand, but I can placate myself with the fact that English is no longer the language of the Anglos but also of everyone else worldwide. We use proper grammar (and that, I sometimes still have problems with) but we can insert whatever the colour that we wish into the dialect.
Anyway, I've to get to work. So, this will continue...
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Indigenous/Indigent
Someone posted to a list I was in on the issue of the Western Shoshone people and their land rights issue. I posted this question to a cultural studies list I was on and a few exchanges had taken place which I would like to paste here.
------------------------------Begin thread-------------------------------------------
From: Clarissa Lee
Hi everyone,
I've been receiving mails on the goings-on at Nevada regarding the Western Shoshone community. Below was the blog attached. Is anyone here researching this issue or know what is really going on? To hear of such systematic genocide by the US govt of its own citizens is very disturbing, to say the least, if it reaches the extend where the UN has to step in.
http://www.theecologist.org/blog.asp?admin_id=16
But then, I suppose this is nothing new.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Stevienna de Saille
Normally, I just lurk here, but I felt compelled to answer Clarissa.
I have worked with Shundahai, one of the organisations mentioned by this
article, and attended the annual gathering at the Test Site a couple of
years running, back in the late 90s. Shundahai is a mixed group of Native
and non-Native activists, led by Corbin Harney, a Shoshone elder, as the
spiritual center. They keep close ties to the Western Shoshone Defence
Project, which is Carrie Dann's group -- I have met Corbin a number of
times, even hosted him on a speaking tour, but I met the Dann sisters only
once, about ten years ago. Shundahai, btw, are a splendid group of people -
as a radical direct-action activist, I was quite used to working with groups
with a lot of internal friction, personality conflicts and paranoia. Working
with Shundahai was the most harmonious political experience of my life, and
I would credit a lot of that to Corbin, and to the organisation's immense
respect for the Shoshone people and their ways.
The entire Nevada Test Site is on Shoshone land, so bombing them is nothing
new. The last time I was out there, the US was planning to start
sub-critical testing again. Their excuse is that the land is empty, which to
white eyes I suppose it is -- desert people tend to live quite far apart as
the land can only support so much life in concentrated areas. (I will
refrain here from raging at Phoenix and Las Vegas.) Oh yes, and they are
"only Injuns". Every year for I don't know how many now -- more than 20, I
should think -- Shundahai stages a three day protest at the Test Site around
Mother's Day weekend. Everyone is issued with a permit from the Shoshone
Nation to camp on their land (mimicking the BLM who claim to own it), and
there are a number of actions from simple mass trespass to full blockade.
You can have a look at their website for the action they're planning against
"Divine Strake" - http://www.shundahai.org/divine_strake.htm.
I wish I could say this situation was unique in Indian Country, but it is
very far from it. Bomb tests, livestock impoundments, water diversions and
destruction of the aquifer, forced relocations, the planned largest nuclear
waste site at Yucca Mountain, which is also Native land, and sacred (in a
state which has no nuclear power plants of its own) -- the list of issues is
staggering. And that is before you even get to the basics of health, housing
and education. The more time I spent in the Southwest, the more appalled I
became. And this was under the Clinton Administration, which was not exactly
Indian-friendly either, so I can't imagine how bad things have become under
The Shrub and His Minions.
I also couldn't tell you how many cases were put to the UN during the Decade
for Indigenous People, which resulted in a few toothless declarations of
support and not a lot more. I later worked with an international group who
went to the UN asking for the release of Leonard Peltier, a Lakota political
prisoner, and a stop to the relocation of the Big Mountain Navajo. The UN
eventually created the Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous People which
seemed like a very useful thing at the time. Ten or so years on, Peltier is
still in prison and some very few Navajo are still barely hanging on to
their land. So, while I'm glad the UN is speaking out for the Shoshone, I
suspect the word "bomb" has a lot more to do with it than justice. However,
in the present political climate, maybe that's exactly the word that's
needed to finally get something done.
If anyone wants to learn something about Native American issues, I'd highly
recommend Ward Churchill's "Struggle for the Land: (about land rights issues
and the environment) or Annette Jaimes' "The State of Native America"
(simlar to the Churchill, but more based around social issues). Both books
are more than ten years old, but sadly, despite the last thirty years of
increasingly sophisticated activism, very little has changed. There is also
a good page at the Shundahai site to get you started on what's available on
the net: http://www.shundahai.org/indigenous_issues.htm
Thanks for listening. I will now return to my customary lurker's place in
the corner.
Stevie
Stevienna de Saille
Center for Interdisciplinary Gender Studies
University of Leeds
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Clarissa Lee
Hi Stevie,
Thanks for that very enlightening post. Malaysia, where I am from, is also facing some critical issues with regards to its indigenous people, ranging from the pressure to conform themselves to the politically-defined, hegemonic "indigenous" groups who subscribe to a particular cultural and religious beliefs, and forced abandonment of their customs. Though their rights are recognised by the law and Constitution, in reality, they are treated as footholds by those in power. In fact, some of the so-called "leaders" of these indigenous people have been subtly bribed to forced the silent obedience of these people. Not to mention that many of these people had to suffer the dire consequences of logging in their lands, caused by logging companies that are linked in some ways to the government. Highways, dams and many infrastructures have found their way into the lands of these people, who were then compensated with bungalows and transient material goodies even as they'd lost their lands forever.
But then, this brings up the evergoing argument that we should not prevent progress of these people. But then, what is progress if it is your definition that you have forced down their throats, depriving of their basic rights while telling them that you are doing things for their own good. Giving them no voice in the parliament or make any effort to understand the roots of their culture that is extremely deep, to know what makes them tick and how should change work best for them, instead of using the same yardstick of change applied to cultures that are so very different from theirs. Anyhow, they have been assimilated into the dominant discourse but are actuallly the neglected subaltern other, rendered invisible. There are some works done on these issues here, though not too many as yet.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Stevienna de Saille
t does seem to be the same story for indigenous people almost everywhere,
doesn't it? I have some aboriginal friends in Australia and when we talk
about their lives, it's so much the same story as well. The only place I
have been to that seems a slight exception was New Zealand, though the Maori
have very similar issues with land rights and cultural preservation. But I
was surprised at the level of knowledge about Maori people that most pakeha
(a non-pejorative word for white people) had, right down to a number of
Maori words, including pakeha, being so integrated into the language that I
had some trouble reading the newspapers.
That may simply be a matter of smaller population in NZ overall, so Maori
cultural paradigms are more clearly felt. It may be mere political
correctness, with no real gain for the Maori behind it, but it really didn't
feel like that. There was something else in NZ, a feeling I can't quite put
my finger on.
In Modest_Witness, Donna Haraway talked about the failure of land
negotiations between the Wik aboriginal people and the white settlers being
based in an inability of both to understand what "The Land" implied in the
imaginary of the other. I think NZ might be the opposite, that despite their
other differences and the still vastly unequal position of the Maori within
'New Zealand', 'Aoteoroa' *does* occupy a similar place in the imaginary of
both Maori and pakeha, and provides a conceptual meeting ground. That, and
the fact that neither can claim to be original, may be why the Maori have
been able to come quite far politically in a relatively short time
(particularly with comparison to the US), and why the two cultures felt to
me as if they are slowly evolving towards a national identity both can
share.
I see there are New Zealanders on this list, perhaps they'll correct any
misapprehensions I may have?
Stevie
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Alan Meek
Hi Stevie
There are very important differences in the ways that Maori and pakeha
understand place and history in New Zealand, although the official
state policies of Biculturalism have certainly advanced the political
recognition of Maori over the past two decades. There are also ongoing
land claims by Maori that, while remaining controversial, do represent
significant progress in redressing the injustices of the past.
However, we should certainly avoid idealising the cultural and
political situation here. There have been strong indications that
public opinion is widely against the recognition of Maori grievance.
There are also dominant economic interests that would simply assimilate
Maori culture into commodified forms of "uniqueness" in the global
marketplace. So I don't believe there is really a common recognition
of the meaning of land and identity on the part of Maori and pakeha in
Aotearoa--I'm not even sure that would be desirable, as it may even
confuse moving toward social justice in this country.
Allen Meek
Massey University
New Zealand
----------------------------------end thread-----------------------------------------
So, what do you make of the above exchanges?
------------------------------Begin thread-------------------------------------------
From: Clarissa Lee
Hi everyone,
I've been receiving mails on the goings-on at Nevada regarding the Western Shoshone community. Below was the blog attached. Is anyone here researching this issue or know what is really going on? To hear of such systematic genocide by the US govt of its own citizens is very disturbing, to say the least, if it reaches the extend where the UN has to step in.
http://www.theecologist.org/blog.asp?admin_id=16
But then, I suppose this is nothing new.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Stevienna de Saille
Normally, I just lurk here, but I felt compelled to answer Clarissa.
I have worked with Shundahai, one of the organisations mentioned by this
article, and attended the annual gathering at the Test Site a couple of
years running, back in the late 90s. Shundahai is a mixed group of Native
and non-Native activists, led by Corbin Harney, a Shoshone elder, as the
spiritual center. They keep close ties to the Western Shoshone Defence
Project, which is Carrie Dann's group -- I have met Corbin a number of
times, even hosted him on a speaking tour, but I met the Dann sisters only
once, about ten years ago. Shundahai, btw, are a splendid group of people -
as a radical direct-action activist, I was quite used to working with groups
with a lot of internal friction, personality conflicts and paranoia. Working
with Shundahai was the most harmonious political experience of my life, and
I would credit a lot of that to Corbin, and to the organisation's immense
respect for the Shoshone people and their ways.
The entire Nevada Test Site is on Shoshone land, so bombing them is nothing
new. The last time I was out there, the US was planning to start
sub-critical testing again. Their excuse is that the land is empty, which to
white eyes I suppose it is -- desert people tend to live quite far apart as
the land can only support so much life in concentrated areas. (I will
refrain here from raging at Phoenix and Las Vegas.) Oh yes, and they are
"only Injuns". Every year for I don't know how many now -- more than 20, I
should think -- Shundahai stages a three day protest at the Test Site around
Mother's Day weekend. Everyone is issued with a permit from the Shoshone
Nation to camp on their land (mimicking the BLM who claim to own it), and
there are a number of actions from simple mass trespass to full blockade.
You can have a look at their website for the action they're planning against
"Divine Strake" - http://www.shundahai.org/divine_strake.htm.
I wish I could say this situation was unique in Indian Country, but it is
very far from it. Bomb tests, livestock impoundments, water diversions and
destruction of the aquifer, forced relocations, the planned largest nuclear
waste site at Yucca Mountain, which is also Native land, and sacred (in a
state which has no nuclear power plants of its own) -- the list of issues is
staggering. And that is before you even get to the basics of health, housing
and education. The more time I spent in the Southwest, the more appalled I
became. And this was under the Clinton Administration, which was not exactly
Indian-friendly either, so I can't imagine how bad things have become under
The Shrub and His Minions.
I also couldn't tell you how many cases were put to the UN during the Decade
for Indigenous People, which resulted in a few toothless declarations of
support and not a lot more. I later worked with an international group who
went to the UN asking for the release of Leonard Peltier, a Lakota political
prisoner, and a stop to the relocation of the Big Mountain Navajo. The UN
eventually created the Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous People which
seemed like a very useful thing at the time. Ten or so years on, Peltier is
still in prison and some very few Navajo are still barely hanging on to
their land. So, while I'm glad the UN is speaking out for the Shoshone, I
suspect the word "bomb" has a lot more to do with it than justice. However,
in the present political climate, maybe that's exactly the word that's
needed to finally get something done.
If anyone wants to learn something about Native American issues, I'd highly
recommend Ward Churchill's "Struggle for the Land: (about land rights issues
and the environment) or Annette Jaimes' "The State of Native America"
(simlar to the Churchill, but more based around social issues). Both books
are more than ten years old, but sadly, despite the last thirty years of
increasingly sophisticated activism, very little has changed. There is also
a good page at the Shundahai site to get you started on what's available on
the net: http://www.shundahai.org/indigenous_issues.htm
Thanks for listening. I will now return to my customary lurker's place in
the corner.
Stevie
Stevienna de Saille
Center for Interdisciplinary Gender Studies
University of Leeds
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Clarissa Lee
Hi Stevie,
Thanks for that very enlightening post. Malaysia, where I am from, is also facing some critical issues with regards to its indigenous people, ranging from the pressure to conform themselves to the politically-defined, hegemonic "indigenous" groups who subscribe to a particular cultural and religious beliefs, and forced abandonment of their customs. Though their rights are recognised by the law and Constitution, in reality, they are treated as footholds by those in power. In fact, some of the so-called "leaders" of these indigenous people have been subtly bribed to forced the silent obedience of these people. Not to mention that many of these people had to suffer the dire consequences of logging in their lands, caused by logging companies that are linked in some ways to the government. Highways, dams and many infrastructures have found their way into the lands of these people, who were then compensated with bungalows and transient material goodies even as they'd lost their lands forever.
But then, this brings up the evergoing argument that we should not prevent progress of these people. But then, what is progress if it is your definition that you have forced down their throats, depriving of their basic rights while telling them that you are doing things for their own good. Giving them no voice in the parliament or make any effort to understand the roots of their culture that is extremely deep, to know what makes them tick and how should change work best for them, instead of using the same yardstick of change applied to cultures that are so very different from theirs. Anyhow, they have been assimilated into the dominant discourse but are actuallly the neglected subaltern other, rendered invisible. There are some works done on these issues here, though not too many as yet.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Stevienna de Saille
t does seem to be the same story for indigenous people almost everywhere,
doesn't it? I have some aboriginal friends in Australia and when we talk
about their lives, it's so much the same story as well. The only place I
have been to that seems a slight exception was New Zealand, though the Maori
have very similar issues with land rights and cultural preservation. But I
was surprised at the level of knowledge about Maori people that most pakeha
(a non-pejorative word for white people) had, right down to a number of
Maori words, including pakeha, being so integrated into the language that I
had some trouble reading the newspapers.
That may simply be a matter of smaller population in NZ overall, so Maori
cultural paradigms are more clearly felt. It may be mere political
correctness, with no real gain for the Maori behind it, but it really didn't
feel like that. There was something else in NZ, a feeling I can't quite put
my finger on.
In Modest_Witness, Donna Haraway talked about the failure of land
negotiations between the Wik aboriginal people and the white settlers being
based in an inability of both to understand what "The Land" implied in the
imaginary of the other. I think NZ might be the opposite, that despite their
other differences and the still vastly unequal position of the Maori within
'New Zealand', 'Aoteoroa' *does* occupy a similar place in the imaginary of
both Maori and pakeha, and provides a conceptual meeting ground. That, and
the fact that neither can claim to be original, may be why the Maori have
been able to come quite far politically in a relatively short time
(particularly with comparison to the US), and why the two cultures felt to
me as if they are slowly evolving towards a national identity both can
share.
I see there are New Zealanders on this list, perhaps they'll correct any
misapprehensions I may have?
Stevie
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Alan Meek
Hi Stevie
There are very important differences in the ways that Maori and pakeha
understand place and history in New Zealand, although the official
state policies of Biculturalism have certainly advanced the political
recognition of Maori over the past two decades. There are also ongoing
land claims by Maori that, while remaining controversial, do represent
significant progress in redressing the injustices of the past.
However, we should certainly avoid idealising the cultural and
political situation here. There have been strong indications that
public opinion is widely against the recognition of Maori grievance.
There are also dominant economic interests that would simply assimilate
Maori culture into commodified forms of "uniqueness" in the global
marketplace. So I don't believe there is really a common recognition
of the meaning of land and identity on the part of Maori and pakeha in
Aotearoa--I'm not even sure that would be desirable, as it may even
confuse moving toward social justice in this country.
Allen Meek
Massey University
New Zealand
----------------------------------end thread-----------------------------------------
So, what do you make of the above exchanges?
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Everyone is crying for the candy
Everyone wants to have a bit in denouncing Amir Muhammad's documentary on Chin Peng, that infamous communist leader of Malaya, because they felt wronged by the latter, or that the leader was of the wrong race.
The police could not forgive him for murdering members of their close-knit ranks.
Some nationalist felt that Chin Peng has caused too many destruction to warrant a place in history, and that he should be forgotten and ignored(notwithstanding the fact that his autobiography is out for sale in this country, though I haven't seen it in awhile).
The Malay fascists were incensed that Amir, a Malay, dare to do a documentary about someone of another race
And there is this ongoing debate about who is more worthy to be featured in a documentary. This feels a little like the school's moral studies class.
And also both sides trying to argue that Chin Peng has no place in our history books, nor in our freedom fighting.
Sigh...I cease to care to comment further.
Why can't I ever live my life in peace without caring about a bunch of people who want to make life difficult for themselves
The police could not forgive him for murdering members of their close-knit ranks.
Some nationalist felt that Chin Peng has caused too many destruction to warrant a place in history, and that he should be forgotten and ignored(notwithstanding the fact that his autobiography is out for sale in this country, though I haven't seen it in awhile).
The Malay fascists were incensed that Amir, a Malay, dare to do a documentary about someone of another race
And there is this ongoing debate about who is more worthy to be featured in a documentary. This feels a little like the school's moral studies class.
And also both sides trying to argue that Chin Peng has no place in our history books, nor in our freedom fighting.
Sigh...I cease to care to comment further.
Why can't I ever live my life in peace without caring about a bunch of people who want to make life difficult for themselves
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Jangankan nasi menjadi hangus: Lokasi Agama Dalam Ideologi Negara
Oleh Kartini
Berdasarkan pemantauan kerajaan Malaysia bagi tahun 2000, 60.4 peratus populasi di Malaysia dikatakan adalah penganut Islam, 19.2 peratus adalah Buddha, 9.1 peratus penganut Kristian, 6.3 peratus adalah penganut Hindu dan 2.6 peratus lagi adalah penganut Konfusianisme, Taoisme dan agama-agama tradisional Cina. Selainnya merupakan penganut-penganut Sikh, Baha’i dan lain-lain yang tidak tersenarai. Tetapi, dari senarai di atas, Buddha, Konfusianisme, dan Taoisme bukanlah agama, tetapi falsafah yang berpusatkan manusia dan alamnya. Sikh dan Baha’i pula merupakan fahaman yang berdasarkan tok guru yang telah mempopularkan ajaran mereka sehingga menjadi satu agama. Tetapi, berdasarkan pandangan berciri materialis, agama muncul disebabkan ketidakpuasan dengan ketidakadilan dan kejahilan dalam masyarakat.
Mengikut Stephen Hunt dalam bukunya Religion and Everyday Life, sumber emosi yang mencirikan pengamalan ritual dalam agama merupakan perasaan yang dialami oleh manusia ‘primitif’ dalam kehadiran sesuatu yang dianggap mistikal dan misterius yang telah diberikan nama “mana”, sebuah perkataan Polynesian. Mana membawa maksud rasa gentar yang bercampur-aduk dengan rasa takjub terhadap alam duniawi dan fenomena yang wujud dalamnya. Berdasarkan tafsiran sedemikian, kita boleh misalkan falsafah manusia yang bercirikan ajaran kehidupan, yang tidak berdasarkan deity mahupun tuhan, juga adalah agama. Maka, semua yang diperihalkan di atas boleh diklasifikasi sebagai agama. Juga, biasanya penganutan agama-agama ini di Malaysia dihubung-kaitkan dengan pecahan kumpulan-kumpulan kaum dan etnik. Apa yang biasanya hilang dari wacana sebegini ialah kecairan dan kompleksiti sesuatu agama yang mempunyai mazhab-mazhab berbeza, dan juga penganut-peganutnya yang tidak boleh diacukan dengan jelas mengikut kaum.
Menurut laporan Biro Demokrasi, Jabatan Hak Asasi Manusia dan Buruh kerajaan Amerika Syarikat yang bertajuk “International Religious Freedom Report 2003”, kebanyakan penganut agama yang lain dari Islam menduduki Malaysia Timur dan pusat-pusat bandar. Malaysia Timur mempunyai paling ramai etnik bergelar bumiputera yang menganuti agama Kristian, disebabkan populasi mereka yang kebanyakannya tertumpu di situ, walaupun proses penghijrahan telah membawa mereka ke Semenanjung. Latar ini akan menjadi penting apabila saya membincangkan tentang layanan kerajaan Semenanjung terhadap kaum bumiputera bukan Islam ini.
Pada 30hb Oktober 2005, akhbar New Straits Times telah menerbitkan satu artikel yang melaporkan apa yang telah berlangsung dalam Persidangan Ketujuh Persekutuan Kristian Malaysia (Christian Federation of Malaysia atau CFM), di mana ahli-ahli persidangan telah membincangkan kebimbangan mereka terhadap kekurangan perpaduan antara kumpulan-kumpulan masyarakat di Malaysia. Adakah sekarang masanya untuk semua pertubuhan agama di negara ini keluar dari persembunyian mereka dan mula menyuarakan sesuatu tentang penyakit yang menular di kalangan bangsa Malaysia? Kebanyakan mereka yang terlibat dalam aktivisme keagamaan biasanya tidak bisa campur tangan dalam hal berkenaan kekuasaan sesebuah negara.
Sejarah menunjukkan bahawa agama tidak lari dari persengketaan politik, tidak kira sama ada agama itu mempunyai struktur politik yang jelas, seperti dalam Islam, mahupun tidak. Sejarah menunjukkan bahawa teokrasi pernah wujud dalam peradaban manusia, dan penganutan sesuatu agama ada kaitannya juga dengan faedah yang boleh diperolehi oleh masyarakat tersebut.
Sekatan dan tindakan-tindakan yang dikatakan melampaui batasan hak individu/masyarakat juga menyebabkan kecurigaan sesama kumpulan dalam pergaulan sesama mereka. Hak penganut-penganut agama lain kurang dipedulikan.
Mereka yang melantik diri sendiri sebagai pengawal moral ummah mengamalkan kaedah-kaedah yang merendahkan kemampuan berfikir penganut-penganut Islam, antaranya menerusi penggubalan pelbagai fatwa dan perundangan yang bertujuan mengawal dan menekan mereka agar berkelakuan mengikut agenda dan ideologi pengawal-pengawal itu sendiri.
Kita ambil contoh perkahwinan antara penganut agama yang berlainan. Di Malaysia, perkahwinan antara umat Islam dengan bukan Islam, walaupun dengan penganut agama Kristian yang dianggap Ahli Kitab, tidak dibenarkan di sisi undang-udang. Maka, kemajmukan dan pluralitas yang sering disebut-sebutkan itu akan kekal di hujung lidah, tidak dapat dipraktikkan secara lebih mendalam. Saya akur bahawa terdapat banyak masalah yang dapat timbul antara perkahwinan antara dua insan yang beragama berbeza, terutamanya jika kedua-dua insan itu berpegang kuat pada agama masing-masing tanpa berkompromi. Secara luaran, kebanyakan agama yang bersifat monotheistic memang tidak banyak memberi ruang untuk berkompromi. Tetapi, adakah hakikatnya memang begitu, atau itu hanya tafsiran yang telah menjadi dominan pada akhir-akhir zaman ini?
Berkaitan dialog antara agama yang sedia diadakan secara kecil-kecilan dan sedang digalakkan di Malaysia, adakah ia sememangnya dapat menambahkan kefahaman dan empati di kalangan penganut-penganut agama yang berbeza-beza, atau adakah ia hanya merupakan satu cara untuk tidak mendepani isu-isu yang dianggap ‘sensitif’? Siapakah yang menentukan samada sesuatu isu itu adalah sensitif atau tidak? Adakah dengan mengelak isu-isu yang telah ‘disenaraihitamkan’ hanya merupakan satu alasan untuk tidak perlu berhadapan dengan duri-duri paradoks yang sememangnya wujud dalam sebarang agama. Maka, apa yang diwujudkan ialah satu sifat toleransi yang mempunyai konotasi pejoratif, yang menunjukan kepada kemungkinan berlaku letusan dan perbalahan sesama penganut-penganut agama apabila dilemparkan kritikan (walaupun kritikan yang tidak seserius mana, tetapi dianggap cukup serius oleh hanya beberapa individu). Keengganan untuk melihat dan mendepani isu-isu yang menjadi punca perbezaan pendapat atau kecurigaan secara bertanggungjawab akan terus menghalang perpaduan yang tulen dari terbentuk. Kedaifan kebanyakan orang-orang Islam negara ini untuk memahami agama-agama lain, dan juga umat agama-agama lain untuk memahami Islam, membentuk persepsi-persepsi yang menyeleweng berkenaan agama-agama yang bukan agama mereka. Mereka, khususnya umat Islam, yang enggan mengakui kejahilan diri, atau merendahkan hati untuk lebih memahami akidah dan dasar-dasar dalam agama-agama lain, telah menjadi rintangan kepada tercapainya dialog antara agama dengan jayanya. Penganut agama-agama lain juga takut untuk mengkritik apa yang mereka lihat sebagai masalah dalam Islam, samada itu benar-benar masalah, ataupun hanya masalah dalam amatan mereka, kerana bimbang akan dituduh menimbul kekecohan, dan melanggar perlembagaan. Atau lebih buruk lagi, dikecam sebagai kafir yang ingin memecah-belahkan umat Islam.
Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) telah mengambil satu langkah berani dengan membawa isu perpaduan kaum ke dalam agenda mereka. Namun, mereka belum lagi berani untuk melihat masalah ini dengan lebih dalam, iaitu permasalahan keadaan yang tidak membenarkan pertukaran idea secara terbuka. Memang wajar mereka berhati-hati, kerana hak bebas yang mereka punyai untuk menyuarakan ketidakpuasan mereka akan ditarik balik dengan sepantas kilat sekiranya mereka dilihat sebagai ‘melanggar batasan’. Banyak lagi kumpulan Kristian yang tidak terlibat dengan CFM kerena bukan semua mazhab mahupun kumpulan Kristian di negara Malaysia mengambil sikap terbuka untuk terlibat dengan hal-hal yang dilihat sebagai di luar lingkungan aktiviti ‘keagamaan’ mereka, disebabkan oleh pelbagai perkara dari perbezaan tafsiran hingga kepada keengganan terlibat dalam apa yang dilihat sebagai ‘politik luar’. Suara mereka terbenam, dan tidak kedengaran.
Cadangan Maximus Ongkili untuk mengadakan kursus sensitasi terhadap pluralitas dalam agama patut dimulakan dari peringkat sekolah. Disebabkan oleh kepelbagaian dan kompleksiti dalam satu-satu agama, memang sukar untuk mendalaminya dalam kelas-kelas pengajiaan agama di sekolah (dan pengajian agama yang saya maksudkan di sini bukan tertakluk kepada pengajiaan agama Islam seperti yang dilaksanakan sekarang). Kenapa kita harus membuang duit para pembayar cukai dengan usaha mengadakan kelas Islam untuk pelajar-pelajar Islam dan kelas Moral untuk pelajar-pelajar bukan Islam, yang hanya merenggangkan hubungan sesama pelajar-pelajar?
Bukankah lebih baik diadakan kelas keagamaan untuk mereka dari pelbagai kaum, dengan pengajian secara expansive, dan bukan mendalam (ini boleh dilakukan kemudian, oleh individu tertentu yang mempunyai minat), tentang kesemua agama utama (dan minor) di dunia? Ini bukan cadangan radikal baru tetapi telah mula dipraktikkan di beberapa negara Eropah untuk mengatasi ketegangan keagamaan. Pada pendapat saya, pihak berkuasa tidak seharusnya terasa kewibawaan agama Islam sebagai agama rasmi akan tergugat, kerana terdapat pelbagai cara lagi untuk pelajar-pelajar Islam untuk mendapat pendidikan keagamaan mereka. Ini boleh dilakukan luar waktu sekolah biasa. Ini bukan saja akan menbina perpaduan yang sebenarnya, tetapi akan membina keprihatinan terhadap kepercayaan orang lain dari usia muda lagi. Duit juga dapat dijimatkan dengan menumpukan kemudahan dengan lebih berkesan. Dan bangsa yang dibina di negara ini akan jauh lebih bertamadun dan maju lagi.
Sikap tidak ikhlas kerajaan dan pihak-pihak berkuasa terhadap penganut-penganut agama lain jelas dilihat dari pengharaman beberapa buku bersifat keagamaan, termasuk Kitab Injil dalam bahasa-Iban, bahasa ibunda penganut Kristian bumiputera Sarawak. Ini telah berlaku pada tahun 2003, dan hanya dengan bantahan nyaring dari komuniti ini yang menyebabkan pengharaman itu ditarik semula. Pengharaman ini adalah tindakan dungu yang meremehkan peruntukan yang telah digariskan dalam Bahagian II, Artikel 11, Perlembagaan Malaysia, iaitu, Hak Kebebasan Asas, yang membenarkan penganut-penganut agama lain, termasuk Kristian, untuk mempraktik rukun-rukun agama mereka tanpa diganggu.
Namun, tidak boleh dikatakan bahawa perlembagaan tiada kelemahannya.
Sebagai contoh, dalam fasal 4 perkara 11 yang sama, penganut-penganut agama lain disebut tidak boleh menjalankan aktiviti dakwah terhadap penganut-penganut agama Islam. Kalau dikatakan aktiviti dakwah dengan cara cuba memaksa atau menekan seseorang penganut agama lain untuk keluar dari agama asalnya dan menganut agama lain, itu sememangnya tidak patut. Tetapi kalau umat Islam itu sendiri berminat untuk mengenali lebih lanjut tentang agama lain, yang tidak semestinya menjadikan mereka murtad, ini harus diterima dengan baik. Tiada sesiapa yang dapat memelihara keimanan seseorang individu melainkan individu tersebut. Apa yang boleh dibuat orang lain hanya memberi ingatan dan nasihat. Kalau wujudnya klausa dalam perlembagaan itu adalah disebabkan ketidakpercayaan kerajaan terhadap kebolehan dan keimanan ummah Islam di Malaysia, bukankah ini bermaksud bahawa penganut agama Islam, yang kebanyakannya telah berpuluh-puluh, kalaupun tidak beratus-ratus, generasi yang beragama Islam belum lagi cukup matang untuk menentukan hubungan mereka dengan Allah? Adalah ironis bahawa pembangunan Islam yang ingin digerakkan JAKIM mengandungi unsur tersirat yang memperkecilkan kebolehan ummah Islam Melayu Malaysia untuk berdikari.
Harus diakui bahawa agama dengan sendirinya tidak menjadi pemisah atau jurang sesama manusia, sebaliknya cara umat dalam agama tersebut berperangai. Selagi tiada langkah untuk mengakui kewujudan persoalan-persoalan ini, dan gerakan ke arah mendepaninya, kita akan terus hidup dalam zaman gelap perpaduan.
Berdasarkan pemantauan kerajaan Malaysia bagi tahun 2000, 60.4 peratus populasi di Malaysia dikatakan adalah penganut Islam, 19.2 peratus adalah Buddha, 9.1 peratus penganut Kristian, 6.3 peratus adalah penganut Hindu dan 2.6 peratus lagi adalah penganut Konfusianisme, Taoisme dan agama-agama tradisional Cina. Selainnya merupakan penganut-penganut Sikh, Baha’i dan lain-lain yang tidak tersenarai. Tetapi, dari senarai di atas, Buddha, Konfusianisme, dan Taoisme bukanlah agama, tetapi falsafah yang berpusatkan manusia dan alamnya. Sikh dan Baha’i pula merupakan fahaman yang berdasarkan tok guru yang telah mempopularkan ajaran mereka sehingga menjadi satu agama. Tetapi, berdasarkan pandangan berciri materialis, agama muncul disebabkan ketidakpuasan dengan ketidakadilan dan kejahilan dalam masyarakat.
Mengikut Stephen Hunt dalam bukunya Religion and Everyday Life, sumber emosi yang mencirikan pengamalan ritual dalam agama merupakan perasaan yang dialami oleh manusia ‘primitif’ dalam kehadiran sesuatu yang dianggap mistikal dan misterius yang telah diberikan nama “mana”, sebuah perkataan Polynesian. Mana membawa maksud rasa gentar yang bercampur-aduk dengan rasa takjub terhadap alam duniawi dan fenomena yang wujud dalamnya. Berdasarkan tafsiran sedemikian, kita boleh misalkan falsafah manusia yang bercirikan ajaran kehidupan, yang tidak berdasarkan deity mahupun tuhan, juga adalah agama. Maka, semua yang diperihalkan di atas boleh diklasifikasi sebagai agama. Juga, biasanya penganutan agama-agama ini di Malaysia dihubung-kaitkan dengan pecahan kumpulan-kumpulan kaum dan etnik. Apa yang biasanya hilang dari wacana sebegini ialah kecairan dan kompleksiti sesuatu agama yang mempunyai mazhab-mazhab berbeza, dan juga penganut-peganutnya yang tidak boleh diacukan dengan jelas mengikut kaum.
Menurut laporan Biro Demokrasi, Jabatan Hak Asasi Manusia dan Buruh kerajaan Amerika Syarikat yang bertajuk “International Religious Freedom Report 2003”, kebanyakan penganut agama yang lain dari Islam menduduki Malaysia Timur dan pusat-pusat bandar. Malaysia Timur mempunyai paling ramai etnik bergelar bumiputera yang menganuti agama Kristian, disebabkan populasi mereka yang kebanyakannya tertumpu di situ, walaupun proses penghijrahan telah membawa mereka ke Semenanjung. Latar ini akan menjadi penting apabila saya membincangkan tentang layanan kerajaan Semenanjung terhadap kaum bumiputera bukan Islam ini.
Pada 30hb Oktober 2005, akhbar New Straits Times telah menerbitkan satu artikel yang melaporkan apa yang telah berlangsung dalam Persidangan Ketujuh Persekutuan Kristian Malaysia (Christian Federation of Malaysia atau CFM), di mana ahli-ahli persidangan telah membincangkan kebimbangan mereka terhadap kekurangan perpaduan antara kumpulan-kumpulan masyarakat di Malaysia. Adakah sekarang masanya untuk semua pertubuhan agama di negara ini keluar dari persembunyian mereka dan mula menyuarakan sesuatu tentang penyakit yang menular di kalangan bangsa Malaysia? Kebanyakan mereka yang terlibat dalam aktivisme keagamaan biasanya tidak bisa campur tangan dalam hal berkenaan kekuasaan sesebuah negara.
Sejarah menunjukkan bahawa agama tidak lari dari persengketaan politik, tidak kira sama ada agama itu mempunyai struktur politik yang jelas, seperti dalam Islam, mahupun tidak. Sejarah menunjukkan bahawa teokrasi pernah wujud dalam peradaban manusia, dan penganutan sesuatu agama ada kaitannya juga dengan faedah yang boleh diperolehi oleh masyarakat tersebut.
Sekatan dan tindakan-tindakan yang dikatakan melampaui batasan hak individu/masyarakat juga menyebabkan kecurigaan sesama kumpulan dalam pergaulan sesama mereka. Hak penganut-penganut agama lain kurang dipedulikan.
Mereka yang melantik diri sendiri sebagai pengawal moral ummah mengamalkan kaedah-kaedah yang merendahkan kemampuan berfikir penganut-penganut Islam, antaranya menerusi penggubalan pelbagai fatwa dan perundangan yang bertujuan mengawal dan menekan mereka agar berkelakuan mengikut agenda dan ideologi pengawal-pengawal itu sendiri.
Kita ambil contoh perkahwinan antara penganut agama yang berlainan. Di Malaysia, perkahwinan antara umat Islam dengan bukan Islam, walaupun dengan penganut agama Kristian yang dianggap Ahli Kitab, tidak dibenarkan di sisi undang-udang. Maka, kemajmukan dan pluralitas yang sering disebut-sebutkan itu akan kekal di hujung lidah, tidak dapat dipraktikkan secara lebih mendalam. Saya akur bahawa terdapat banyak masalah yang dapat timbul antara perkahwinan antara dua insan yang beragama berbeza, terutamanya jika kedua-dua insan itu berpegang kuat pada agama masing-masing tanpa berkompromi. Secara luaran, kebanyakan agama yang bersifat monotheistic memang tidak banyak memberi ruang untuk berkompromi. Tetapi, adakah hakikatnya memang begitu, atau itu hanya tafsiran yang telah menjadi dominan pada akhir-akhir zaman ini?
Berkaitan dialog antara agama yang sedia diadakan secara kecil-kecilan dan sedang digalakkan di Malaysia, adakah ia sememangnya dapat menambahkan kefahaman dan empati di kalangan penganut-penganut agama yang berbeza-beza, atau adakah ia hanya merupakan satu cara untuk tidak mendepani isu-isu yang dianggap ‘sensitif’? Siapakah yang menentukan samada sesuatu isu itu adalah sensitif atau tidak? Adakah dengan mengelak isu-isu yang telah ‘disenaraihitamkan’ hanya merupakan satu alasan untuk tidak perlu berhadapan dengan duri-duri paradoks yang sememangnya wujud dalam sebarang agama. Maka, apa yang diwujudkan ialah satu sifat toleransi yang mempunyai konotasi pejoratif, yang menunjukan kepada kemungkinan berlaku letusan dan perbalahan sesama penganut-penganut agama apabila dilemparkan kritikan (walaupun kritikan yang tidak seserius mana, tetapi dianggap cukup serius oleh hanya beberapa individu). Keengganan untuk melihat dan mendepani isu-isu yang menjadi punca perbezaan pendapat atau kecurigaan secara bertanggungjawab akan terus menghalang perpaduan yang tulen dari terbentuk. Kedaifan kebanyakan orang-orang Islam negara ini untuk memahami agama-agama lain, dan juga umat agama-agama lain untuk memahami Islam, membentuk persepsi-persepsi yang menyeleweng berkenaan agama-agama yang bukan agama mereka. Mereka, khususnya umat Islam, yang enggan mengakui kejahilan diri, atau merendahkan hati untuk lebih memahami akidah dan dasar-dasar dalam agama-agama lain, telah menjadi rintangan kepada tercapainya dialog antara agama dengan jayanya. Penganut agama-agama lain juga takut untuk mengkritik apa yang mereka lihat sebagai masalah dalam Islam, samada itu benar-benar masalah, ataupun hanya masalah dalam amatan mereka, kerana bimbang akan dituduh menimbul kekecohan, dan melanggar perlembagaan. Atau lebih buruk lagi, dikecam sebagai kafir yang ingin memecah-belahkan umat Islam.
Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) telah mengambil satu langkah berani dengan membawa isu perpaduan kaum ke dalam agenda mereka. Namun, mereka belum lagi berani untuk melihat masalah ini dengan lebih dalam, iaitu permasalahan keadaan yang tidak membenarkan pertukaran idea secara terbuka. Memang wajar mereka berhati-hati, kerana hak bebas yang mereka punyai untuk menyuarakan ketidakpuasan mereka akan ditarik balik dengan sepantas kilat sekiranya mereka dilihat sebagai ‘melanggar batasan’. Banyak lagi kumpulan Kristian yang tidak terlibat dengan CFM kerena bukan semua mazhab mahupun kumpulan Kristian di negara Malaysia mengambil sikap terbuka untuk terlibat dengan hal-hal yang dilihat sebagai di luar lingkungan aktiviti ‘keagamaan’ mereka, disebabkan oleh pelbagai perkara dari perbezaan tafsiran hingga kepada keengganan terlibat dalam apa yang dilihat sebagai ‘politik luar’. Suara mereka terbenam, dan tidak kedengaran.
Cadangan Maximus Ongkili untuk mengadakan kursus sensitasi terhadap pluralitas dalam agama patut dimulakan dari peringkat sekolah. Disebabkan oleh kepelbagaian dan kompleksiti dalam satu-satu agama, memang sukar untuk mendalaminya dalam kelas-kelas pengajiaan agama di sekolah (dan pengajian agama yang saya maksudkan di sini bukan tertakluk kepada pengajiaan agama Islam seperti yang dilaksanakan sekarang). Kenapa kita harus membuang duit para pembayar cukai dengan usaha mengadakan kelas Islam untuk pelajar-pelajar Islam dan kelas Moral untuk pelajar-pelajar bukan Islam, yang hanya merenggangkan hubungan sesama pelajar-pelajar?
Bukankah lebih baik diadakan kelas keagamaan untuk mereka dari pelbagai kaum, dengan pengajian secara expansive, dan bukan mendalam (ini boleh dilakukan kemudian, oleh individu tertentu yang mempunyai minat), tentang kesemua agama utama (dan minor) di dunia? Ini bukan cadangan radikal baru tetapi telah mula dipraktikkan di beberapa negara Eropah untuk mengatasi ketegangan keagamaan. Pada pendapat saya, pihak berkuasa tidak seharusnya terasa kewibawaan agama Islam sebagai agama rasmi akan tergugat, kerana terdapat pelbagai cara lagi untuk pelajar-pelajar Islam untuk mendapat pendidikan keagamaan mereka. Ini boleh dilakukan luar waktu sekolah biasa. Ini bukan saja akan menbina perpaduan yang sebenarnya, tetapi akan membina keprihatinan terhadap kepercayaan orang lain dari usia muda lagi. Duit juga dapat dijimatkan dengan menumpukan kemudahan dengan lebih berkesan. Dan bangsa yang dibina di negara ini akan jauh lebih bertamadun dan maju lagi.
Sikap tidak ikhlas kerajaan dan pihak-pihak berkuasa terhadap penganut-penganut agama lain jelas dilihat dari pengharaman beberapa buku bersifat keagamaan, termasuk Kitab Injil dalam bahasa-Iban, bahasa ibunda penganut Kristian bumiputera Sarawak. Ini telah berlaku pada tahun 2003, dan hanya dengan bantahan nyaring dari komuniti ini yang menyebabkan pengharaman itu ditarik semula. Pengharaman ini adalah tindakan dungu yang meremehkan peruntukan yang telah digariskan dalam Bahagian II, Artikel 11, Perlembagaan Malaysia, iaitu, Hak Kebebasan Asas, yang membenarkan penganut-penganut agama lain, termasuk Kristian, untuk mempraktik rukun-rukun agama mereka tanpa diganggu.
Namun, tidak boleh dikatakan bahawa perlembagaan tiada kelemahannya.
Sebagai contoh, dalam fasal 4 perkara 11 yang sama, penganut-penganut agama lain disebut tidak boleh menjalankan aktiviti dakwah terhadap penganut-penganut agama Islam. Kalau dikatakan aktiviti dakwah dengan cara cuba memaksa atau menekan seseorang penganut agama lain untuk keluar dari agama asalnya dan menganut agama lain, itu sememangnya tidak patut. Tetapi kalau umat Islam itu sendiri berminat untuk mengenali lebih lanjut tentang agama lain, yang tidak semestinya menjadikan mereka murtad, ini harus diterima dengan baik. Tiada sesiapa yang dapat memelihara keimanan seseorang individu melainkan individu tersebut. Apa yang boleh dibuat orang lain hanya memberi ingatan dan nasihat. Kalau wujudnya klausa dalam perlembagaan itu adalah disebabkan ketidakpercayaan kerajaan terhadap kebolehan dan keimanan ummah Islam di Malaysia, bukankah ini bermaksud bahawa penganut agama Islam, yang kebanyakannya telah berpuluh-puluh, kalaupun tidak beratus-ratus, generasi yang beragama Islam belum lagi cukup matang untuk menentukan hubungan mereka dengan Allah? Adalah ironis bahawa pembangunan Islam yang ingin digerakkan JAKIM mengandungi unsur tersirat yang memperkecilkan kebolehan ummah Islam Melayu Malaysia untuk berdikari.
Harus diakui bahawa agama dengan sendirinya tidak menjadi pemisah atau jurang sesama manusia, sebaliknya cara umat dalam agama tersebut berperangai. Selagi tiada langkah untuk mengakui kewujudan persoalan-persoalan ini, dan gerakan ke arah mendepaninya, kita akan terus hidup dalam zaman gelap perpaduan.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
My revinew of Dummies Guide to Forensics at The Star
For wannabe crime-fiction writers, this book is not a bad place to start, though of course you will need to get another book for more detailed layering of scenes. (:
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Lifebookshelf
Friday April 28, 2006
Crime-scene nuggets
Review by CLARISSA LEE
Forensics for Dummies
Author: D.P. Lyle
Publisher: Hungry Minds Inc, 384 pages,
(ISBN: O-76455-580-4)
And it seems that in every episode, entire teams of forensic scientists (be they investigators, pathologists, toxicologists or whatever sub-fields they are in within the forensic purview) can be devoted to, at the most, three cases, with each episode spanning days and sometimes a week (though seldom longer).
What about the hundreds, if not thousands, of on-going cases that require the attention of a very small team of investigators? What’s more, the TV investigators don’t seem to face any budget constraints that limit their investigations in anyway. Finally, despite the long work hours and ennui due to the seeming lack of clues, they still look beautiful and impeccable.
In this plain-speaking introductory guide to forensic science, D.P. Lyle dispels these notions by giving the readers enough information for them to understand each of the individual fields covered under forensics, without overwhelming them with unnecessary detail.
In the last three chapters, the author provides a summary of 10 famous cases that had utilised (or misused) forensic science, with details on the dead ends and problems faced by investigators, and how Hollywood gets the death scenes wrong in movies and TV series.
Finally, there is information on various careers in forensics, including brief job descriptions, educational requirements and job experience.
Each chapter is written in a way that allows easy cross-referencing should the reader require a refresher on an earlier topic.
The first gives an overview of the world of forensics, and outlines its basic working principles and an introduction to what’s to come in the rest of the book.
Chapter Two shows the forensic investigators at work: it lists their duties and shows how they complement each other. The next two chapters go into how criminal investigators perform their crime-scene duties as well as criminal profiling.
Chapters five to seven give the micro-picture of all the work that is involved in the gathering of evidence and materials from the crime scene as well as crime-scene reconstruction, while nine to 13 provide more intimate details related to the investigation of bodies or body parts.
While Lyle spares us the grisly details (and visuals) and most of the jargon, the clinical details involved in processing a dead body are not exactly bedtime reading. Lyle has organised the book in such a way that those who aren’t too keen on the various etchings and markings, or the number of lands or grooves that a particular firearm possesses may skip that particular section, with no break to the flow of the book.
Likewise, readers who are intrigued by the workings of the criminal mind or the laboratory sciences involved in each of the different fields of forensics can sieve through the details and see how they correlate with one another.
Whether you are a big CSI fan or merely have a casual interest in the behind-the-scenes technicalities, an amateur sleuth, or are considering a career in forensics, this book will do it for you.
There is always something to do....so it is up to you to find the time.
I haven't completely settled at my new place, though am beginning to get used to it. It is actually a lot more comfortable than the previous one, though sometimes I feel like a intruder, because I am now a tenant as oppose to a resident :d
I also need to start working on my writing again, as it has taken a backseat with my house-moving. Last weekend, I spent most of my time reading, and tidying up my room further. At least the latter is settled, and I needed to do that reading to get myself back into the right frame of mind. And also the palpable tension of having to wait for the results of my MA to come to fore. The meeting to determine its fate has been postponed for another week, so I may as well not bother to think about it and spend my time thinking about the short story I was half-way writing.
I'd submitted two stories, and am waiting to hear about them, though am not sure what the reception for them would be like.
On a different note, there is a lot of brouhaha regarding the banning of Amir Muhammad's documentary on Chin Peng, the former leader of the since disbanded Parti Komunis Malaya. I wrote a letter on that, with reference also to the misunderstood Sepet and Gubra (though those films are so much like an advertisement in some sense - I caught previews of them here and there - that it should not by right be misread so completely by the "esteemed" critics. But then, this is Malaysia, so go figure). If you want to read it, it's at Nizam Zakaria's limaunipis blog. It's in Malay. I have sent it to a few publications and I do hope it would be published, real soon, though it's hard to say. Let me know what you think of my comments, whether they are tenable, or am I prematurely regurgitating my ideas...
Oh, there are some links in that blog, and in this blog that are in English so visitors who do not know the Malay Language will still get a gist of the issue.
Currently reading this book "Asian Branding: A great Way To Fly" by Ian Batey during the lull hours at work. I've reserved fiction reading for my hours at home so that I could savour the characters without being distracted. (:
I also need to start working on my writing again, as it has taken a backseat with my house-moving. Last weekend, I spent most of my time reading, and tidying up my room further. At least the latter is settled, and I needed to do that reading to get myself back into the right frame of mind. And also the palpable tension of having to wait for the results of my MA to come to fore. The meeting to determine its fate has been postponed for another week, so I may as well not bother to think about it and spend my time thinking about the short story I was half-way writing.
I'd submitted two stories, and am waiting to hear about them, though am not sure what the reception for them would be like.
On a different note, there is a lot of brouhaha regarding the banning of Amir Muhammad's documentary on Chin Peng, the former leader of the since disbanded Parti Komunis Malaya. I wrote a letter on that, with reference also to the misunderstood Sepet and Gubra (though those films are so much like an advertisement in some sense - I caught previews of them here and there - that it should not by right be misread so completely by the "esteemed" critics. But then, this is Malaysia, so go figure). If you want to read it, it's at Nizam Zakaria's limaunipis blog. It's in Malay. I have sent it to a few publications and I do hope it would be published, real soon, though it's hard to say. Let me know what you think of my comments, whether they are tenable, or am I prematurely regurgitating my ideas...
Oh, there are some links in that blog, and in this blog that are in English so visitors who do not know the Malay Language will still get a gist of the issue.
Currently reading this book "Asian Branding: A great Way To Fly" by Ian Batey during the lull hours at work. I've reserved fiction reading for my hours at home so that I could savour the characters without being distracted. (:
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Been awhile
Hey folks,
My apologies for not having posted anything in awhile. Been extremely busy with the changes to my life, which involved a habitat exchange and lifestyle switch. The former is complete but the latter is still an ongoing process. Many things, interesting ones at that, had actually taken place since I last posted, just that I'd neither the time nor energy to post anything, but suffice to say, for now, that last week had been pretty bleh, full of boring details of my having to transport objects from one place to the other, and then pulping the piles of crap I seemed to have the knack for storing. I bet the cleaners must be wondering about the piles of stuff that kept appearing outside my old room for them to remove. But the news is, I have officially cut of my life support from the hostel I've been living in for more than three years and now have to juggle life as an adult *ack*. Not to mention having to deal with angry hormones and an extremely bad flu to boot. It was a pretty bad week as well, coz many unexpected things happened. But there were also some good news to lighten me up when I think that the world is crashing in on me. Some news I would rather not say anything about until things are more confirmed.
Anyway, I'll post more later. After having taken MC last Thurs, and then leave on Fri, I've loads of work to catch up on. See ya!
My apologies for not having posted anything in awhile. Been extremely busy with the changes to my life, which involved a habitat exchange and lifestyle switch. The former is complete but the latter is still an ongoing process. Many things, interesting ones at that, had actually taken place since I last posted, just that I'd neither the time nor energy to post anything, but suffice to say, for now, that last week had been pretty bleh, full of boring details of my having to transport objects from one place to the other, and then pulping the piles of crap I seemed to have the knack for storing. I bet the cleaners must be wondering about the piles of stuff that kept appearing outside my old room for them to remove. But the news is, I have officially cut of my life support from the hostel I've been living in for more than three years and now have to juggle life as an adult *ack*. Not to mention having to deal with angry hormones and an extremely bad flu to boot. It was a pretty bad week as well, coz many unexpected things happened. But there were also some good news to lighten me up when I think that the world is crashing in on me. Some news I would rather not say anything about until things are more confirmed.
Anyway, I'll post more later. After having taken MC last Thurs, and then leave on Fri, I've loads of work to catch up on. See ya!
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