Welcome to ONE Malaysia (I am being sacrastic!)

Been a while since I highlighted some Malaysian news. Very depressing. Malaysia Boleh One Malaysia policy???

CFM CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF 15,000 BIBLES

The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) calls for the immediate release of the 15,000 Bibles in Bahasa Malaysia currently being withheld by the authorities.To withhold the use of the Bahasa Malaysia Bibles is an infringement of Article 11 of the Federal Constitution which gives every Malaysian the right to profess his/ her faith as well as to practice it.

This has been going on for years!

For the full statement by CFM, click HERE

For the news report, click HERE

Spat over qualifications Ex-mufti faces another controversy

PETALING JAYA: New controversy has emerged over the arrest of former Perlis mufti Dr Mohd Asri Zainul with the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) now questioning his qualifications.

Jakim claims that Dr Mohd Asri did not major in Syariah law, but in Arabic Studies, and that there was no dual elective from the University of Jordan previously attended by Dr Mohd Asri.

Click HERE for the full story

And here's something interesting to add to the mix ... RPK's related article!

On a related note, I think it is good that its more and more coming out in the open (in Malaysia that is) that in Islam, most of the Hadith is disputed and only a small percentage is considered authentic. Back in Malaysia, I grew so weary having to politely explain this fact that is hidden from most Malaysians (Muslims and non Muslims alike). Weary because it is a standard and unfair "tactic" to attack the Bible as full or errors, argue that the many versions we have show that the Bible is corrupted etc while at the same time declare the Quran and Islam is perfect and has no such issues(and it cannot be challenged or it is deemed to be insulting to Islam, and hurtful to the feelings of Muslims). It is tiring to hear that that there has only ever been one version of the Quran from the very beginning (all copies in history were exactly word for word the same, which is historically untrue) and that historically there is only one united true Islam in terms of practice backed up by the thousands of Hadiths.

And of course then there is the attack on how Biblical scholarship in the area of textual criticism to sort out authentic Scriptures from inadvertent copyist errors, proves that the Bible is full of errors but at the same time conveniently hiding the fact that Muslim scholars of integrity do something similar in order to determine for themselves which of the Hadiths are authentic. But In Malaysia, we are not allowed to know such things!

Okay ... even rambling on that ... but a little more on this :-)

I found this report by the Nut Graph very interesting... in terms of how the largest Indonesian Muslims group views Islam and the Islamic state concept (and there's an interesting related comparison with new Zealand as well ...)

Overriding the religious state

A POPULAR former state mufti has just been arrested by the Islamic religious authorities. A Muslim woman who drank alcohol must be whipped. Those who question the sentence on her must be silenced. The proposed relocation of a Hindu temple was met by a Muslim-led protest threatening bloodshed. Christians must not use the word "Allah". These are, sadly, the headlines that contemporary Malaysians would associate with discussions on religion.

And so, it was a humbling experience listening to Malaysia's regional neighbours sharing their experiences at the Fifth Regional Interfaith Dialogue, organised by the Australian government and held in Perth from 28 to 30 Oct 2009. For example, a plenary session, "Faith and education: preventing the radicalisation of vulnerable youth", was led by none other than Indonesia. And Indonesia brought no less than the top leaders of its two biggest Muslim movements — Dr Sudibyo Markus of Muhammadiyah and Dr Ahmad Hasyim Muzadi of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU).

Muzadi said, "NU has more than 10,000 pesantren (religious boarding schools) and 40 million members in Indonesia." This might sound like bragging, but the point must be placed within context — Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country in the world, and NU is the planet's biggest Muslim organisation. And just what is NU's stand on issues such as the Islamic state?

For the rest of the report click HERE.

PM asked to clarify mixed-race bumiputra status

jackwong@thestar.com.my

KUCHING: Sarawak has sought the help of Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to address the issue of children of mixed parentage in the state who have supposedly been denied bumiputra status.

Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Alfred Jabu said he wrote to the Prime Minister on the issue several days ago.

He highlighted the case of SPM top scorer Marine Undau, whose application for a place in a matriculation programme was rejected because of her mixed parentage.

So the double standard policies have new further sub divisions based again on race?

For the story, click HERE.

UMNO claims it is not racist ... but I tend to think Malaysian politics is about the primacy of one race (and with it one religion). I like this other Nut Graph article ...

Umno, not racist?

3 Nov 09 : 8.00AM

By Ding Jo-Ann

DATUK Seri Najib Razak's assertion over the weekend that only "one or two Umno leaders" have made racist comments and that they do not represent the party's views belies belief.

Umno's top leaders have in fact publicly and repeatedly championed the Malay agenda over the legitimate interests of other Malaysians. In some instances, intimidation and fear have even been used in their rhetoric to uphold "Malay rights".

Hence, Najib's exhortation for Malaysians to ignore and forget the racism that Umno is capable of is problematic, to say the least.

Not just a few

It was at the opening of the Gerakan national delegates conference on 1 Nov 2009 that the prime minister reportedly said that people should not pay too much attention to the one or two party leaders who make racist remarks. He added that every party had such leaders. Najib, who is also Umno president and Barisan Nasional chairperson, urged people to instead look at Umno's policies from "Day One", saying they have "always been fair, inclusive, democratic and open".

Click HERE for the rest of the article if you are not too depressed today...

One last thing ..... (for now), more news on the Kartika caning issue..

Cops query SIS over Kartika issue

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 4 — Two representatives of Sisters in Islam (SIS) gave their statements to Bukit Aman’s Criminal Investigations Department (CID) today on a police report lodged against SIS in Kuantan over the Kartika Sari Dewi Soekarno issue.

SIS executive director Hamidah Marican and its board member Zainah Anwar were called in to give their statements for an investigation under Section 4(i) (a) of the Sedition Act by the CID at 10.35am.

The two, accompanied by lawyers, spent almost two hours at the CID’s legal prosecution division, according to SIS Programme Manager (Research and Publications) Masjaliza Hamzah.

“SIS hopes that after recording these statements, the police will recommend that no further action be taken against the organisation. We would like to reiterate that within the framework of a democratic society, there must be an open, responsible, rational and respectful dialogue on Islam and its impact on our lives both private and public,” she said in a statement here.

Click HERE for the rest of the report.

God provides through unexpected sources (Pastor's Notes)

Just posted up next Sunday's pastor's Notes. Click HERE.

A to Z regular blessings - the letter J

J

Jennifer. My wife. We will be married 19 years in a week's time. Long time and lots of ups and downs as in all normal and healthy marriages but most significantly, still going stronger and stronger! :-) Won't say anymore lest I embarrass her but it is great to be married to Jennifer!

Jokes. Ah ... a great life line for me. Jokes (good ones that is) lightens my mood, brings relief to a tense situation, breaks the ice in a conversation and is often good for a sermon illustration. And that was a list just off the top of my head! I can't imagine what my life would be like without humour.

A related story ... One of my favourite posters of Jesus is one that was drawn by a Jesuit Priest from the Phillipines. (I gave it away to someone who needed it more at a tough period in his life than I so I do not have it anymore. I do miss it!) This priest works among the poor and I bought it from the Daughters of St. Paul shop that is located along Jalan Gasing. I went back many times alter but it is not sold anymore. I should have taken a picture of it but that was before digital cameras and I foolishly assumed that I could easily get another one! :-(

Anyway it is a marvelous painting of Jesus wearing blue jeans and a T-short sitting down and playing a guitar. This painting / picture has Jesus smiling / laughing as he is playing the guitar. I loved it so much I bought it and had it framed and hung it directly opposite my bed. I would wake up each morning and one of the first things I would see is that picture....

Jerusalem / Jericho. This may seem strange but when i got the chance to got to Israel (courtesy of my mum's generosity in using her annual bonus one year to pay for my ticket), I brought back two posters of a panoramic photo shot of Jerusalem and Jericho. I got it framed up (poster board) and it is hanging above the door frames of my house. So I see one city when I exit my house and the other one when I exit my living room. I am not a dispensationalist so for me it does not hold the same significance to a traditional dispensationalists. But it is a blessing to me because it reminds me of my connection with a culture and people and land, and history etc that is bigger than my little circle of life. On my wall too is a beautiful woven banner from Isreal that has the Numbers 6 Araoronic blessing (thanks again to my mum for this!) and on a side table is my little ram's horn (the real Israelite shofar to me as this is from an animal indigenous to Israel)

and a little plastic menorah (almost kitschy but not yet :-)). All reminders of a great time of blessing and learning that opened my eyes to so many things spiritual.

Light Party 31 October 2009

We had another great Light Party this year. For more photos go HERE (courtesy of Ken B). The photos are only for the puppet and magic show sections. No, I was not involved in the puppet show

I had a blast even though I limited it to a 15 minute show and it was good to see familiar many familiar faces of some of the neighborhood kids as well as some new faces.

Strange that I cannot seem to post up more than 5 photos per blog?

And I could never figure out how to properly format them nicely for a blog post ...

A to Z of regular blessings - the letter "I"

I

Imagination.

This is an incredible blessing from God. Of course I should add that we need "sanctified imagination". I first heard this term mentioned by my church's former pastor in one of his sermons on the book of Revelation. The term has stuck and has struck a chord in me ... though I must say that my definition of "sanctified imagination" may probably be wider than his. :-)

Basically by this term I generally mean "imagination within the boundaries of a Christian worldview". So is comic book based science fiction and fantasy within this boundary? Hehehe. Perhaps that's an interesting topic for another time.

I can't imagine what my life would be like without imagination (lousy play with words but .... my blog! hahahaha!). Imagination sure does make my life more interesting.

Examples of imagination spicing up my life? Well, cooking is one. Experimenting with food flavours and styles and recipes. There's working on a magic routine.... Then there's communicating truth.... which brings me to a side topic .... more and more I wonder whether truth based fiction may often be actually more insightful and relevant than real life stories....

INTERNET

What is there to say about this? Such a great "invention". It's not just regular blessing but often a daily blessing - great resource and communication tool

Intuition / instinct

This is hard to describe and I know there are times when it is clearly the Holy Spirit intervening. But there are times when it can be all a big blur. For example, it's in situations like when I have to make a a "split second" decision and I instinctively go for one, But then I go away wondering if I made the right choice / decision and later in hindsight I find that I did! Whew! Blessing!!!

It's sometime I sometimes think about. Can intuition / instinct be developed or is it just something we are born with?

In some aspects of Life I suspect we can hone our intuition in a certain direction. Especially in more clear cut spiritual matters, the greater my pool of knowledge and experience (personal or vicarious) the easier it is to sense what to do. Then of course there's the issue of walking with God and one's prayer life.

OK, just one letter (or should it be called alphabet in this context?) today as I have other things to do.

The power of Love and empathy (Pastor's Notes)

Just posted up my Pastor's Notes. Click here.

RM 3K poverty line for urban poor

Hmmm... Interesting! I am so glad to be in NZ. This report is too close for comfort (but in Malaysia I had 2 children, and had no mortgage ...)

To any Malaysian church leaders of urban churches who might be reading this, I hope that this report finds you doing what is fair in regards to how you pay your pastors / full time workers.

1 Corinthians 9:9-11

9 For it is written in the Law of Moses: "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." Is it about oxen that God is concerned?

10 Surely he says this for us, doesn't he? Yes, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest.

11 If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?

RM3,000 is poverty line for the urban poor

By LESTER KONG and IZATUN SHAARI

PETALING JAYA: The Government has decided to set RM3,000 as the poverty line for the urban poor based on feedback from people living in major urban areas such as Kuala Lumpur.

This is according to Federal Territories Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin whose ministry is to be renamed Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Ministry, in efforts to improve the lives of the urban poor.

“If you have three children and your household income is RM3,000 or below, you’re almost at the poverty line,” he said, adding that many lower income families had more than four children and still needed to pay for their cars, houses and other mortgage payments.

For the rest of the story ... click here!