Selamat Menyambut Hari Gawai & Keamatan

What is Gawai Dayak? 

Picture taken from Google

Gawai Dayak is a festival celebrated in Sarawak and West Kalimantan e.g. on 31 May and 1 June every year. It is both a religious and social occasion. The wordGawai means a ritual or festival whereas Dayak is a collective name for the native ethnic groups of Sarawak (and neighboring Indonesian Kalimantan): the Iban, also known as Sea Dayak and the Bidayuh people, also known as Land Dayak ans the Orang Ulu (inclusive of Kayans, Kenyahs, etc.). Thus, Gawai Dayak literally means "Dayak Festival". Dayak would visit their friends and relatives on this day. Such visit is more commonly known as "ngabang" in the Iban language. Those too far away to visit would receive greeting cards. If there is a formal invitation to visit, the ngalu pengabang/temuai (welcoming guests/visitors) activity will be performed by the inviting longhouse.

It started back in 1957 in a radio forum held by Tan Kingsley and Owen Liang, a radio programme organiser. This generated a lot of interest among the Dayak community.

The mode of celebration varies from place to place and the other place and to this place. Preparation starts early. Tuak (rice wine) is brewed (at least one month before the celebration) obviously using the rice from the recent bountiful harvest mixed with home-made ciping (yeast) for fermentation. The longhouse itse;f may be repaired and repainted if necessary before the celebration.

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What is Keamatan?

The Kaamatan festival is an annual event in the cultural life of the Kadazandusuns of Sabah since time immemorial. In its deepest sense, Kaamatan festival is a manifestation of Creator and Creation relationship, as well as Inter-Creations relationship. It embodies the principal acts of invocation of divinities, appeasing, purification and restoration, re-union of benevolent spirits, and thanksgiving to the Source of All. It is part of a complex wholesome Momolian religious system centered on the paddy rites of passage and the life cycle of Bambarayon - the in-dwelling spirit of paddy.

Picture taken from Google

Appeasing is done in respect of Bambarayon, Deities, Divinities and Spirits, who may have been hurt by human

wrongful, acts. Purification is performed in respect of human and spiritual needs for forgiveness followed by resolutions to make themselves worthy of the gifts of life from God. Restoration in necessary to ensure the health and well being of SUNIL, mankind and other spiritual beings. Re-union is realised in respect of human needs to be integrated in body, mind and spirit within the concept of the seven-in-one divinity in humanity, as well as re-union of Bambarayon with human Sunduan. Finally Thanksgiving is observed as befitting for all creations to express their gratitude and appreciation for the gifts of life (through Huminodun) and all life supportive system on earth that their Creator lovingly and generously gave them.

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What Say Youth - Perpaduan Malaysia - Mob.TV

TWZ - An Invitation to Managing Gen Y Workshop Launch

Since the year 2000, zubedy has been paying special interest in youth and Gen Y; engaging them both formally at work and informal settings. This would also include undertaking surveys like the Multigenerational Workforce survey done in 2012.

We are happy to launch ‘Managing Gen Y: Working with and through them’, a workshop designed to help management get the best of Generation Y; and its mirror program ‘Gen Y 2.0 – How to get the best from Generation BB+X’. It is not enough to talk to those who are managing Gen Y, we must also engage Gen Y directly. Both sides must play their role and adjust to the other, bearing in mind that corporate goal is the main focus. An old Malay saying would explain the need aptly, ‘Bertepuk sebelah tangan tak akan berbunyi’.

To supplement the workshops, we are also launching a book specially dedicated to Gen Y – ‘#MoneyTalk: 139 easy guides on how to make and keep money without cheating or corruption’. This book is designed to be a fun to read as it not only offers bite-sized tips and reminders about money; but it also touches on how money affects and relates to men, women, family, love, relationships, entrepreneurial habits, good corporate culture, and God.

*Please note that seats are limited. Kindly RSVP by the stipulated date.

Is BN a validly elected Government - by Art Harun

In 2008, Pakatan Rakyat fought a titanic battle in the GE12. It managed to astound Barisan Nasional by denying the BN, for the very first time in Malaysia's history, a two-third majority. Honestly, I don't think many people gave the PR that fat chance to do so in 2008.

The same system as in GE13 was used. The same delineation of voters and constituencies as in GE13 was used.

I have heard not a single complain about gerrymandering since 2008 until May the 5th 2013. (I could be wrong and I stand to be corrected on this).

In fact, most voters did not even know the word "gerrymandering" before 6th May 2013.

Prior to GE13, noises were made about the electoral roll being dirty. Efforts were put, either by making noises, lodge police reports or by going to Courts (YB Nurul Izzah did this and it was commendable of her I must say) to clean the roll. But to no avail as judicial review was not available.

But gerrymandering WAS NEVER an issue at all. Nobody, as far as I know, within Pakatan had complained about this.

In fact, a cursory reading of the Buku Jingga, Pakatan's political and administration Bible, did not even mention gerrymandering.

Buku Jingga did not even mention Pakatan's aspiration to re-delineate the various constituencies if they had come into power.

The truth is this. It is without doubt that delineation of constituencies have been made and used by the BN to somewhat favour them.

The question is whether that was legal or Constitutional. Why has there been no legal challenge?

But why is it such a huge issue suddenly now? Because Pakatan lost the GE13?

What if Pakatan had won? Would it be an issue? Or would Pakatan be ready to live under the same delineation just because it works for them?

Was Pakatan willing to hedge its position prior to GE13 by NOT making any kind of noise about gerrymandering PRIOR to GE13?

I don't know.

My point is this. You knew it was there all this while. You live with it. You never made an issue out of it. You contested in not one, but TWO GEs with the same system.

You lost this time.

Now you make a hell lot of noise about it.

I say you live to fight for another five years. So let's stop saying the GE is null and void bla bla bla.

Be a responsible opposition just as much as you want the government to be a responsible government.

I personally think that the Barisan is a validly elected government of the day.

A valid government has the right to defend itself, within the confines of the law against illegal acts.

Otherwise, the State would descend into chaos.

English Schools, Bahasa and Integration by Dr. Chandra Muzaffar

Some of the media exchanges on the proposal to establish English medium national schools have given the impression that these schools would be able to facilitate inter-ethnic integration better than Bahasa Malaysia schools.

It is true that in the late fifties and sixties, many English medium schools in urban centres were multi-ethnic. Consequently, there was quite a bit of interaction among the students. But it was the composition of these schools ---not their language of instruction --- that was the cause.

In the seventies as English medium schools were converted to Bahasa schools, the ethnic mix changed quite dramatically largely because of an exodus of Chinese students who opted to join Chinese primary schools. There were many reasons for this including the decline in the quality of teaching of core subjects such as English, Mathematics and Science and the lack of opportunities in Bahasa schools to learn Chinese as a subject, in spite of a provision in the Education Act that allows for the study of one’s mother tongue. Parents, it appears, were also concerned about the alleged lack of discipline in Bahasa schools and their children’s academic performance.

As Bahasa schools became less multi-ethnic and more Malay, they began to acquire, especially from the nineties onwards, a more Islamic character. This further discouraged non-Malays and non-Muslims from enrolling in these schools.

There is however another reason for the outflow of Chinese students from Bahasa schools which is seldom highlighted. Like other non-indigenous communities in societies which had become multi-ethnic as a result of colonial rule, the Chinese and the Indians in Malaysia, have by and large adopted an apathetic --- at best lukewarm --- attitude towards the elevation to national status of practices and symbols associated with the indigenous people. This is why there is hardly any enthusiasm even today among the non-indigenous communities about promoting and popularising Bahasa Malaysia as the definitive language of the land.

The situation has been exacerbated by a Malay elite since Merdeka which has always been ambivalent about the efficacy of Bahasa Malaysia as the language of commerce, industry, science and even government. Mainly English educated, it lacks a holistic vision of how the national language can help to integrate our culturally diverse society.

Contrast this with Indonesia whose elite even before Independence in 1945 articulated a clear commitment to nurturing Bahasa Indonesia as the principal channel for integrating 6000 ethnic groups into a united nation. The Indonesian leaders were determined to evolve a shared national identity through their national language because they knew that the Malay language had served as a lingua franca --- a language of inter-ethnic communication and interaction --- for hundreds of years. Malay, one of the most multi-cultural languages in the world, is eminently qualified to promote integration in a multi-ethnic society. Even in our case, before colonialism, it was primarily through the Malay language that small Chinese communities in Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and Melaka integrated remarkably well into the prevailing cultural ethos.

There is every reason to believe that Bahasa Malaysia can once again help to facilitate interaction and integration in our sekolah kebangsaan. Our real challenge is to make these schools multi-ethnic. Create a learning and teaching environment that will draw the different communities to Bahasa schools. Implement all the proposals contained in the Education Blueprint --- about improving the teaching of various subjects and languages; about discipline; about classroom size; about school administration; about transcending ethnic and religious boundaries; about being truly inclusive. Indeed, in recognising and rewarding students and teachers, be just and fair, regardless of ethnic or religious affiliation. To carry forward all the changes envisaged, ensure competent, dedicated leadership at all levels of the education hierarchy.

Once all this is done, the national school, I have no doubt, will become the school of first choice--- sooner than later.

The debate on vernacular schools By Sharyn Shufiyan - The STAR

THE issue of vernacular schools is so sensitive that the prevailing sentiment is that the call for abolishing vernacular schools is racist in nature. But I don’t quite understand this rationale.

Wouldn’t controlled segregation be even more racist? But come to think of it, our national schools – in its somewhat innocuous way – have become vernacular.

Perhaps the resistance towards national schools is partly because the current system is seen as pushing Malay interests. Our current education system is merely a mirror reflecting an entrenched system of public life organised around race.

A former colleague of mine went to a Chinese primary school. During a reorganisation of the class, she was asked to sit next to a boy. As she sat down, the boy suddenly burst out crying. The teacher asked him what’s wrong, to which he replied, “I don’t want to sit next to a Malay girl.”

This was a one-off event, however, and she generally enjoyed her time in that school.

When I was in school, a Malay schoolmate sneered at a Chinese one for eating with her left hand. Of course, the Chinese girl is oblivious to the Malay taboo of eating with the left hand as its use is to wash “down there”.

These two instances were borderline racism, but it is fundamentally ignorance of the Other. Racism happens both in vernacular and national schools as it does in society. Let’s not pretend it doesn’t. We all have derogatory terms for one another. But racism at school level is ominous.

When students and teachers are found to be racist, it is our collective duty to expose it, much like the principal of a school in Johor who made racist remarks against the Chinese and Indians. Both the school and the principal were named and shamed.

Perhaps we should approach vernacular schools not with cries of abolishment but of integration. And I don’t mean any of that “vision school” thing. I mean a full integration, whereby languages such as Mandarin, Tamil, and even French, Spanish, German or any other foreign language, are taught alongside English and Bahasa Malaysia.

I don’t believe that just because your children attend a national school and have friends from other ethnicities, they will forget their mother tongue or cultural practices. One’s culture is learned and internalised at home.

Yes, vernacular schools also act as community centres but if we were to have them integrated, we would have clubs and associations that promote preservation of cultural heritage – much like the Kelab Kebudayaan at national schools. Again, with effort, dedication and commitment, these clubs and associations can be more than just lip service.

I think the underlying problem is a major distrust of our national schools and their questionable quality. I completely agree; what we need is a complete deconstruction, a brand new national school, one that encapsulates Malaysian values and reflects the societal change of aBangsa Malaysia that is taking place.

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Unity: Moving Forward by Dr. Chandra Muzaffar

One of the most positive developments in the wake of the 13^th General Election is the willingness of a number of Ministers in the Federal Cabinet to invite Opposition politicians to join them in policy formulation and planning at the ministerial level.

Hopefully, cooperation of this sort --- if it works out --- will reduce the antagonism and animosity between the Barisan Nasional and the Pakatan Rakyat which has poisoned the political atmosphere in the last five years or so. Adversarial politics upon which our political system is built often undermines the etiquette and respect that should govern relations between actors with different perspectives on society.

If the Federal Government and the Federal Opposition demonstrate that they can work together on certain matters, the Centre and the Opposition states should also aim to achieve a higher level of understanding especially on issues that have divided them in the recent past. Since there is always the possibility of a State and the Centre being ruled by different political parties, it is imperative that the rulers at both levels transcend partisan loyalties and focus upon the well-being of the people. Opposition leaders at the State level should perhaps initiate moves in that direction, since some Federal Ministers have already reached out to the Opposition. 

In the spirit of reaching out to each other, the BN and the PR should also give serious attention to a proposal that has re-emerged in the post-election scenario.

I had first mooted the idea of a Consultative Council on National Unity in 1987 when I was heading a local NGO.  Later, when I joined the Opposition, then known as Barisan Alternatif (BA), I revived the proposal and developed it further. The BA accepted it and the concept of a Majlis Perundingan Perpaduan Nasional (MPPN) was presented to the public at a media conference on the 2^nd of April 2001.  

I had suggested then --- and I remain convinced --- that the MPPN should be established through an Act of Parliament. It would be independent of the Executive and would be answerable to Parliament to which it would submit half-yearly reports to be debated by both the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara. These reports would also contain recommendations which if adopted by Parliament would be implemented by the Executive.

Since the proposed MPPN would be answerable to Parliament, its members would also be appointed by the same body. What is envisaged is a membership of about 40 to 50 persons comprising representatives of citizens’ groups and individuals who have researched and written on ethnic relations in Malaysia. The membership should reflect the wide spectrum of ethnic concerns that characterise our society and should be as inclusive as possible.   Political parties and serving politicians will not be part of the MPPN. This is to ensure that the consultative council will not be subjected to the pulls and pressures of partisan politics. It will also help to elevate issues pertaining to national unity above politics which in some ways has been a bane to the quest for national unity.

The MPPN would meet behind closed doors. There would be no media coverage of its deliberations. The media and the public would have access to its work through its half-yearly reports presented to Parliament. It is through Parliament that the MPPN would be accountable to the people.

It is crucial that a platform like MPPN be established expeditiously, given the situation we are in. When political polarisation conceals deeper ethnic-cum-religious polarisation, it is important to create opportunities for citizens with divergent ethnic perspectives to meet and share their innermost feelings in an atmosphere that allows for honest, sober reflection. If anything, the 13^th General Election and its outcome has revealed that a substantial segment of the Malay and Chinese populace subscribes to notions of the character and identity of the Malaysian nation which are diametrically different. It is partly because many Malays felt in the week leading to the polls that the idea of the nation that they were comfortable with was being challenged by a view of Malaysia that ignored its historical foundation that they rallied around UMNO. The election also showed how ‘equality’ and ‘justice’ are increasingly seen through a communal prism that has little or no empathy for the other and how it understands its own situation.   The impact of young voters who mirror some of these communal tendencies and yet are different in their political orientation from the older generation is yet another development that merits serious thought. Add to this the role of the new media in fostering and reinforcing both communal and non-communal attitudes. Among these attitudes are those related to religion and its role in the public sphere which in the election generated responses from a segment of both the Muslim majority and the Christian minority.

What this shows is that there are issues of great magnitude that should be addressed outside the arena of electoral politics through sincere and continuous engagement and interaction with the diverse citizens’ groups that constitute our multi-ethnic nation. Hence the case for MPPN.