The Truth About Khairy Jamaluddin – 13

The Truth About Khairy Jamaluddin continues here:

Part 13 – He loves me, he loves me not

 

After the rumblings of 1998, many Malaysians began to care less about the personal lives of politicians. It was deemed that politicians should be judged by the merits of their work, integrity and ability rather than by the goings-on in their bedrooms. When former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad used Anwar Ibrahim’s alleged homosexuality as an excuse for the latter’s sacking, the reaction was more sympathy towards Anwar. Maybe the tide has turned and, in Malaysia’s new political culture, the private lives of politicians should not be of concern unless it also encroaches on their public work.

The Truth About Khairy Jamaluddin – 12

The Truth About Khairy Jamaluddin continues here:

 

Part 12: The sound of money

 

There is certainly an element of dishonesty in the government-owned economic and financial institutions. Norza Zakaria has openly admitted to fellow UMNO Youth Exco Members that he reads important minutes even before it reaches the table of Second Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop. Of course, there are a few honest souls in these organisations who are disgusted by what Khairy Jamaluddin is doing. But they are a very small minority. As young men in their 30s who are just starting out in life, they are hopeful that one day they can reach the heights of their contemporaries who are close to Khairy and therefore now leading the management of the many GLCs under Khazanah. So, most of them grumble only in private. None dare take up the issue with the top, knowing full well that their bosses are also on Khairy’s payroll. One recent employee of a government financial institution who reported a case to the Anti-Corruption Agency found, instead, himself the subject of an internal investigation. The ACA dropped the case like a hot potato when they discovered that the real purchaser of the asset was a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) owned by Mr S, Khairy’s and Norza’s proxy. It was the honest employee who found himself transferred to a desk job in Bank Negara.

The Truth About Khairy Jamaluddin – 11

The Truth About Khairy Jamaluddin continues here:

Part 11: Billion Dollar Khairy

It’s not that difficult to be a millionaire in Malaysia. In fact, it’s not difficult even to be a multi-millionaire – if you have the right connections. Almost always, having the right connections means having a patron in UMNO, whether you are Malay, Indian or Chinese. A godfather in UMNO will give you access to various money-making opportunities for which you may not even need to lift a finger. Take, for example, Haniff Aziz, Khairy Jamaluddin’s first cousin and one of the three ‘Heavenly Kings’ of APs.

The Truth About Khairy Jamaluddin – 10

The Truth About Khairy Jamaluddin continues here:

Part 10 – The National Auctioneer

The National Auctioneer Azman Mokhtar’s rejection of Khairy Jamaluddin’s demands to be the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Khazanah was a massive blow to his ego. Khairy had hoped his appointment to Khazanah would be a mere formality. Instead, he found himself politely turned away and in no uncertain terms labelled as young and inexperienced. It was the same reason that saw him catapulted out of the Prime Minister’s Office after successfully planning Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s historical victory in the 11th General Election.As the main campaign officer of the General Election, Khairy not only devised the image which projected Abdullah as a kinder, gentler man than Mahathir, but he was also instrumental in selecting the Barisan Nasional candidates. A three-man committee comprised of Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, Barisan Nasional Executive Secretary Yaacob Muhammad and Khairy himself were given an almost completely freehand in picking and choosing the ‘lucky ones’ who would be given the watikah (authority letter) to become candidates. But the other two members of the committee were left without doubts that it was Khairy who was the eyes and ears of the Prime Minister and had the most sway in making decisions.

Takaful Vacation Scheme. Are Kafirs Allowed To Join?

Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Bhd today launched another new product called Skim Takaful Percutian, which will provide coverage to participants and family members when they are on vacation both locally and overseas. Its chief executive officer Md Azmi Abu Bakar said that the new product under the general takaful business presented an opportunity to all levels to participate as the contributions are as low as RM10, RM20 and RM30.

I’ve got nothing against this plan, in fact I think it’s a good one. But ever since a corporate Ayatollah at Takaful sent out a semi-fatwa masquerading as ‘advice’ about not greeting kafirs, during their religious festivals, I thought it best to clarify certain things with Takaful.

Firstly do you encourage these kafirs to take policies and products sold by you? If yes why is that not haram but greeting them is? I’m really not too concerned about the validity or the logic behind the semi-fatwa; that is a matter for the theologians to pronounce on. I’m only thinking if it is ok for ‘them’ to come on ‘Takaful-insured’ vacations with the ‘halal crowd’ or whether you will be putting in place certain segregatory practices ala South Africa or pre-Martin Luther King Jr US deep south? This way you can ensure that some of the faithful by mistake don’t wish ‘them’ Happy Deepavalli or Kong Xi Fa Cai or God forbid, Merry Christmas!

Since this news of your semi-fatwa broke out you have not directly addressed the issue. Good. It shows that you stand up for what you say, unlike those cowards in ASLI. However do you think that you can survive in the long term by pissing off these kafirs? According to the government they are the guys with the big bucks while the faithful have only about 18% of the nation’s wealth most of it held by the government as ‘proxy.’ What if they boycott your products and services? Do you have contingency plans? Or do you intend to focus on the halal crowd and be more Islamic in your sale of future products by giving them long Arabic names and underwriting vacation packages to only places where the kafirs would not dare to follow, like madrassahs in Pakistan? There are some interesting religious sites in Bangladesh too and with a name like Takaful you’ll most certainly be welcome there.

Finally please keep up the good work and remember even if your corporate strategies bomb and should you by any chance go bankrupt you can always scream ‘bumiputra’ and the government will surely come to your rescue. After all if it doesn’t help a wira demi bangsa, agama dan negara like you, who can it help?

Source: http://the-malaysian.blogspot.com/

Deepavali greetings can cause syirik??

Update: After giving this some due consideration, to be fair, pending verification of the e-mail, Walski has decided to withhold the identity of where the e-mail originated from. Again, your help in authenticating this e-mail would be very much appreciated by Walski.

A friend of Walski’s forwarded him an e-mail that supposedly originated from a well-known insurance corporation. Not all of it has been translated here, but you can view the original version through this link (PDF, in Bahasa Malaysia; opens in a new window).

The e-mail contains prohibition to all corporation employees from uttering Deepavali greetings – as in “Happy Deepavali” – claiming that this will lead to syirik (blasphemy, or more specifically the association of any object or person with God).

The following are portions of the e-mail translated into English. Some emphasis is by myAsylum, while others are from the original Bahasa Malaysia e-mail. The subject of the e-mail is “Durga Pooja Greetings / Lakshmi Pooja Greetings / Deepavali Greetings“. The mail opens with the usual salutory greetings, and a general welcome to the holy month of Ramadhan. It goes on to state the following:

As Sir / Madam may be aware, apart from the Aidil Fitri celebration, which will be celebrated by Muslims this month, Hindus will also observe 3 of their celebrations, as stated in the subject above.I am happy to inform you that employees of need to be careful with their greetings for certain celebrations, other than those in Islam. The implications of these greetings must be scrutinized, especially those that concern (religious) regulations and belief.

Following this, the e-mail proceeds to explain the significance of the three Hindu celebrations. Then comes the clincher, which Walski finds somewhat disturbing.
(corporate prohibition, and more, in the full post)

After analyzing all three celebrations, it is clear that they have to do directly with the beliefs of the Hindu religion. All Malaysian staff are prohibited from uttering well wishes for all three of the above celebrations, and others like them, because doing this can cause syirik. The corporate culture of this corporation, which is based on the Syariat will not allow

for this to happen, even for customers professing the Hindu faith, or other religions, whereby well-wishes concern their deities. Wishes of Happy Durga Pooja, Happy Lakshmi Pooja and Happy Deepavali is akin to giving well-wishes to the Hindu gods called Durga, Lakshmi and Krishna. And this is clearly against (Islamic) belief.

God has decreed in Surah ali-‘imran, verse 18, which states: “God bears witness that there is no god but Him”. In Surah Muhammad, verse 1, God decrees: “Know, therefore, that there is no God except Allah”.For those whom have inadvertently given well-wishes to the Hindus, like the three greetings above must immediately repent and to not repeat doing so in the future.
Now, regardless of whether the e-mail actually came from the corporation is secondary – what’s disturbing is that the narrowest and most myopic interpretations of Islam are being spread amongst the Muslims in this country. By whom exactly, Walski will not speculate, but obviously these person(s) are from the ultra-conservative camp.Walski is ready to withdraw this post, and the attachment, if it is discovered that the e-mail is a prank. Until he can verify the mail, one way or another, it stays on myAsylum. Any feedback to corroborate or debunk the e-mail would be appreciated.

Sad, isn’t it? Since when has even giving a fellow Malaysian of another faith well wishes on their auspicious day become un-Islamic? This sort of exclusionist, myopic and paranoid behavior, on the part of some Muslims, is what gives Islam such a bad rep.

But if it turns out that this is indeed a real corporate directive from said corporation to its employees, it is the kind of corporate culture that Malaysia definitely does not need.

Source: http://asylum60.blogspot.com/2006/10/deepavali-greetings-can-cause-syirik.html

Chinese in Malaysia, Indonesia prosper despite biased laws

To outsiders, the minority ethnic Chinese of Malaysia and Indonesia present an image of hardworking traders and tycoons.But it has not been an easy climb to success. For decades, Chinese in Malaysia have silently endured government policies giving the country’s majority ethnic Malays preference in education, business, politics and religion.In Indonesia, Chinese were banned from celebrating festivals, forming political parties and publishing newspapers during the 32-year rule of former dictator Suharto. They were encouraged to take Indonesian-sounding names but denied citizenship, and were often the target of mob violence.Neighboring Singapore’s elder statesman Lee Kuan Yew put the spotlight on the Chinese when he told a forum last month that Indonesian and Malaysian governments have “systematically marginalized” them.
Following a furious diplomatic spat, Lee apologized for causing offense.

“The Malaysian history has shown that even in a crisis, we have never marginalized any race,” said Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin. “In fact, Malaysia has successfully overcome economic and racial crises and in the end, racial solidarity was strengthened.”

Race relations

But analysts warn against ignoring simmering discontent among the Chinese, who form a quarter of Malaysia’s 26 million people. Mostly Muslim Malays make up about 60 percent, and ethnic Indians 10 percent.

“The dangers are very obvious. We are a multiracial, multicultural society. And this marginalization may affect fundamentally race relations and the security of the country,” said Lim Teck Ghee, director of the Center for Public Policy Studies think tank.

But while Lim and others agree that Lee has a point, they say the full picture is not as dismal.

The Chinese language, culture and media flourish in Malaysia. Chinese-run schools are among the country’s best – although the government has limited their number despite growing demand – and the community owns about 40 percent of the stock market.

“They (Chinese) find they are living quite well in Malaysia. The have a very strong sense of belonging. And when they compare themselves to other Chinese Diaspora, they find they are quite OK,” said Prof. Hou Kok Chung, director of the Institute of China Studies at the University of Malaya.

Indonesia’s Chinese have fared better after Suharto’s 1998 ouster in a pro-democracy movement. Anti-Chinese regulations have been lifted, and the community’s newspapers and parties are allowed to operate.

Lingering discrimination

But many Chinese, whose ancestors came as settlers in the 15th century, say discrimination lingers – mostly as higher fees charged for citizenship documents and government permits.

“Discrimination against people like me … continues to his day,” said Kuntjoro Halim, who sells traditional herbal cures in Jakarta’s crowded Chinatown. “It has become a habit of government employees to ask for more money when they deal with Chinese. We cannot do anything.”

In Malaysia, racial discrimination complaints are almost never heard openly. The government discourages them, and most people agree. After all, at stake is a carefully nurtured racial harmony that has lasted decades, in a country often hailed as a shining example of peaceful coexistence among diverse ethnic groups.

The last major race riots, in May 1969, killed hundreds. The violence was triggered by the economic disparity between poverty-stricken Malays and rich Chinese, who’d been promoted by British colonial rulers until independence in 1957.

Many Malays see the Chinese – descendants of 19th-century migrants – as outsiders, and call themselves Bumiputeras, or “sons of the soil.”

The government introduced a “New Economic Policy,” or “Bumiputera policy,” in 1971, aimed at giving the Malays a greater share of national wealth.

Many Chinese privately complain that the policy amounts to discrimination against Chinese and Indians.

Examples are many. A quota system ensured until 2003 that more than half of all university places go to Malays, regardless of academic qualifications.

Also, at least 30 percent of shares in public listed companies must be held by Malays, who can also buy new homes – from luxury condos to low-cost housing – at a 7 percent discount.

Islam is the official religion, and takes precedence over others.The United Malays National Organization party has been in power since independence, dominating a ruling coalition in which Chinese and Indians have a limited political share.

There is also indirect discrimination.

No non-Malays make top positions in the police, armed forces or public universities, said Liu Tian Khiew, a senior member of the opposition Chinese-based Democratic Action Party.

He said non-Malays’ chances of promotion in civil service are minuscule, and gasoline station operators’ licenses are given exclusively to Malays.

Chinese political leaders have accepted the Bumiputera policy quietly, not wanting a confrontation that could risk upsetting their economic apple cart.

Such acquiescence is ingrained in Chinese culture, said Prof. Wang Gungwu, director of the East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore.

“They (Chinese) have a very realistic, rational and practical attitude to life. Life is hard; they accept that as a norm,” he said. “As long as they and their children can have opportunities, that system is not totally bad.”

“Chinese do not start rebellions readily, however unhappy they might be,” Wang said. “On the whole, they are much more involved in making a livelihood, becoming wealthy if possible.”

Malaysian government statistics show 43.2 percent of share capital of limited companies lies in Chinese hands, while Malays have 18.7 percent. Chinese control about half the country’s mining industry, 44 percent of wholesale and retail trade, and almost half of all transport and construction businesses.

The government has tried to give Chinese more scholarships to study abroad. Only Malays got them in the past.

However, danger to the status quo could come from young Chinese and Indians, who may not accept the Bumiputera policy forever, said Lim, the political analyst.

“There will be a rising trend of non-Malays, particularly among the young, questioning whether this country, this society is giving them the full right that the other citizens enjoy,” Lim said.

 Source: http://www.taiwannews.com.tw/etn/news_content.php?id=251832&lang=eng_news&cate_img=44.jpg&cate_rss=news_Perspective

OpenOffice v2.0.4 Released

 

OpenOffice.org is is a multi-platform office productivity suite. It includes the key desktop applications, such as a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation manager, and drawing program, with a user interface and feature set similar to other office suites. Sophisticated and flexible, OpenOffice.org also works transparently with a variety of file formats, including those of Microsoft Office.

Openoffice.org is written in C and with documented APIs licensed under the LGPL and SISSL Open Source licenses, OpenOffice.org allows any knowledgeable developer to benefit from the source. And, because the file format for OpenOffice.org is XML, interoperability is easy, making future development and adoption more certain.

Literally, gives Micro$oft Office a run for it’s money. All the packages are there (word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, database, Drawing, Web Editing etc.) and all work well with M$ Office files as well as their own xml formats.
There are myriads of features available for newbies and professionals alike, as well as the usual proofing tools like spell checking, hyphenation and thesaurus.

Homepage:

http://www.openoffice.org

Date updated:
Oct 10, 2006
File size:
75.40 MB

Changelog for this New ‘OpenOffice’ Version:

http://development.openoffice.org/releases/2.0.4rc3.html

 

Download ‘OpenOffice’ v2.0.4 here:

http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/OpenOfficeorg_for_Windows/1009574294/1

 

Or Go to a ‘Bit Torrent’ and Download it, here:

http://distribution.openoffice.org/p2p