Talent show Arab Idol brings unity into sharp focus By S. Indramalar - The STAR

The fresh voices of the Middle East have elevated Arab Idol into much more than a TV reality show.

IT took Mohammad Assaf two days to get from his home in Khan Younis, Gaza in Palestine, to Egypt for the Arab Idolauditions. The 23-year-old Palestinian literally had to beg Hamas officers and bribe the border guards to let him pass through the border to attend the auditions, according to a report on online media monitoring network, The Middle East Monitor.

When he finally stepped into the hotel in Cairo where the auditions were being held, he realised he was a little too late. There were no more audition tickets left.

Disappointed but not willing to give up just yet, Assaf burst into song right in the hall where the other hopefuls were waiting.

Upon hearing him sing, Ramadan Adeeb Abu Nahel, another Palestinian youth at the auditions, decided to give his ticket up to Assaf telling him, “I know I won’t reach the finals, but you will.”

Ramadan Adeed made the right call.

Assaf – the first contestant on the show from Gaza – has made it to the finals of the second season of the reality singing show, a version of the original British show Pop Idol created by Simon Fuller.

In Palestine, Assaf has become somewhat of a national hero. Each week, millions of Palestinians switch on their televisions or log on to YouTube to watch the handsome, dark-haired youth with a megawatt smile (who is a college student moonlighting as a wedding singer in his hometown) belt out songs – mainly patriotic folk songs and romantic ballads – on the reality show which began broadcasting from Beirut, Lebanon, in March.

His strong, rich vocals along with his gutsy determination (evident by his struggle to get to the auditions) has inspired not only ordinary Palestinians – who apparently convene at restaurants and coffeehouses to watch the show – but also the judges of the show.

“You are the authentic Palestinian voice. Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!” commented judge Ragheb Alama, a prominent Lebanese singer, after one performance. The judges then surprised the young performer by asking him to release his new song, Ya Rayt Riyyi Khabiha, as a duet with him.

Assaf also reportedly received a telephone call from Mammoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, who expressed support and encouraged the youth to keep at it.

But it isn’t just Assaf’s voice and swagger that have captivated millions. It’s the spirit he embodies in all his performances. His Facebook page (www.facebook.com/Mohammad AssafArabIdol2013) is filled with comments from fans – largely Palestinians from all corners of the world – proclaiming their support and adulation for the young singer.

“Palestine and the world is so proud of you. God protect you,” said one fan, Jamal Hilmi, on the fan page.

Majida Abu Almeaza, a 45-year-old mother of five from Gaza, said that Assaf is showing the world that Palestinians are “humans who have a deep and beautiful culture”.

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Shaping of post-GE13 scenario by Prof Shad Saleem Faruqi - The STAR

Our nation’s destiny will be shaped as much by the realities on the ground as by the character and courage of our leaders.

WHAT direction will Malaysian society take in the post-GE13 era is a question on many minds. The future is not for anyone to predict with certainty. The spirals of history do not have a pre-determined, dialectic path.

What can be said is that our destiny will be shaped as much by the realities on the ground as by the character and courage of our leaders. Will they rise above the timberline to transcend race, religion, region and narrow partisan politics to persevere with an agenda for transformation? Or will they sacrifice idealism at the altar of expediency?

Only time will tell. It is periods of changes that test the mettle of leadership.

“Leaders of substance do not follow opinion polls. They mould opinion. Not with guns or dollars or position but with the power of their souls”.

The rise of two major political coalitions is now consolidated.

This supplies political unity to a society deeply divided along ethnic, religious and regional lines.

The 2008 and 2013 general elections have legitimised the existence of a strong political Opposition.

People have begun to believe that some check and balance in Govern­ment is necessary.

In the recent elections, Barisan Nasional’s victory appears to be owed to three disparate groups – rural votes in the Malay heartland; lower income groups of peninsular Malaysia that benefited from Government handouts and Barisan’s safe deposit seats in Sabah and Sarawak.

The Chinese and Indian components of Barisan failed to deliver and this has led some foreigners to comment (I believe prematurely) that Malaysia’s multi-ethnic coalition is near collapse.

It may be difficult in the long run for Barisan to maintain its grip on its GE13 electorate because rural areas are shrinking. Rural to urban migration is widespread.

The Malay community is the most prone to internal migration. In any case, PAS has captured some erstwhile Malay rural fortresses. As to the poor, if their socio-economic condition improves, they may develop new preferences.

Therefore, Barisan needs a new orientation and new policies.

Specifically, it needs to consider how far issues such as elite corruption and the perception that business opportunities are being monopolised by the political and administrative elite has alienated it from sections of the Malay grassroots.

While ethnicity remains a potent factor, other dynamics seem to have emerged. Among them is the rural-urban divide. Areas penetrated by Internet appear inclined towards the Oppositon.

On the non-Malay side, its withdrawal of support for Barisan is fuelled by official over-zealousness in the enforcement of Article 153 policies. There are a number of intractable religious issues, among them the recurringly painful one of conversion of minors to Islam when one parent leaves his religion to become a Muslim. Limited places in public universities, low representation in public services and the escalating cost of private higher education are also fomenting frustration.

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Confession of A Teach for Malaysia Teacher

Editor's note: The following is taken from the Facebook status of Alina Amir, a Teach for Malaysia teacher with her permission. In these times of plunging education standards, it is both heartwarming and at the same time heartwrenching to see such determined, bright individuals struggle with educating our children. One must wonder however, how much real change can a few teachers make? The education system requires structural reform from the inside especially. Good things to ponder while reading this excellent 'confession'.

So here’s a public confession: After 4 months into teaching, I came back from a class this morning, put my books on my desk, coolly walked to the ladies, and broke down; with tears, sobs, frantically fanned myself with my hands thinking that could help calm me down, the whole enchilada. Something I have not done for a very long time. 

In the last four months, I could have cried when I had kids calling me a prostitute in mandarin, or that time when a kid told me I should not mess with him because his dad is part of the notorious along gangster crew (which I have never heard of and the phrase “ignorance is bliss” could not have rung truer), or that time when I was wolf whistled at for weeks wherever I went, or when a disruptive boy decided get up in the middle of my lesson, ran around the room and banged every table before he ran out of the class despite me calling after him and then having him come back and literally went on the floor, hugging my feet and begged for my forgiveness the same day, or when I was locked in the school building and then had to come out through the roof (long story) or when a big fat rat, literally, decided to chill right in front of my front door. Those were legit reasons to cry if I wanted to cry. But I didn’t. Not a single tear rolled down my cheeks. I stood up to my boys, I had sleepless nights thinking of strategies to get my kids to just sit down for a single lesson, told every kid who threatened me to bring it on, went to every boy who wolf whistled and threw inappropriate remarks at me, looked them straight in the eyes and said, “how dare you”. I have got nothing to lose and I am sure, as hell is not scared of anybody, no matter who your daddy is.

This morning however, was different. In fact, I wasn’t teaching at all this morning. I was in a form 4 class, of which I only teach PJK to the six of the girls every week. So what was I doing with the entire class? I was invigilating their mid year exam, Sejarah Kertas 3 to be exact; An open book test where students are required to write an essay on a topic given. Just as I finished handing out the exam papers to all 35 students, one boy put his hand up and asked, “ujian apa hari ni, cikgu?” and I went, “HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW WHAT PAPER YOU ARE SITTING FOR ON THE DAY OF THE EXAM AND EVEN AFTER I HAVE HANDED OUT THE EXAM PAPER” silently in my head. Out loud, I said, “ujian Sejarah, kertas 3. Ujian ni boleh tengok buku, so keluarkan lah buku”. Half of the classroom started to rummage through their bags and looked under their tables for books while the other half put their heads down and went to sleep. Ten minutes into the exam, they were all just staring at their books, opened to the first page. I went to a boy and asked if he knew what he was supposed to do. He shook his head and continued staring at his book. Another boy looked at me pleadingly, and asked, “cikgu, macam mana nak buat ni?” No one was writing anything. No one.

I went to one of the girls and asked her to read the question and then looked for the answer in the book. The first question she asked after I told her that was, “bab berapa tu?” and I could sense the whole class was waiting for me to tell her which chapter to open to. I knew then, that they have never read a single thing from their textbook nor have they learned anything in the past four months of school. Heck, I wouldn’t be going too far if I said they barely learned anything in the last 10 years of school. At that moment, I saw their future flashed through my eyes and I wanted to cry.

I wanted to cry because it was unfair for them to be sitting for an exam that they are clearly not ready for. I wanted to cry because someone allowed this to happen. I wanted to cry because as I was explaining to some of the students on how to do the exam and they were eagerly listening, while I was quietly panicking because I am no way near being a Sejarah Form 4 teacher. I wanted to cry because I felt incompetent, wishing I remembered what I learned back in From 4 so that I can teach them something at that moment. I wanted to cry because it is not their fault. But most of all, I wanted to cry because I have 200 students and I have classes back to back from 7.30 AM up to 10.00PM every day that it would be completely impossible to take on new students. All I could think of was how if only all the educated people in the country would spend their time teaching these kids, then maybe, maybe I’d be writing a different story.

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You know we all come from Africa, right? By Kenshin Gumi - FMT

I’m Chinese. I can say that some of my Chinese friends and relatives are the most racist people on the planet. But I don’t blame them. I know that their racist beliefs were drilled into them by their elders, and they are just repeating what they heard growing up. The thing is, just because something is repeated over and over again doesn’t mean it’s true. Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is stupid and can be dangerous.

Now, these racist friends and relatives of mine, they are not evil people by any means. In fact, I would say some of them have a heart of gold. They are helpful, considerate, loving – the weird thing is, the moment the topic of race comes up, their childhood racist brainwashing transforms them into some kind of racist monster that says the most shocking, revolting things about Malays, Indians, and other races.

Just the other day a friend of mine, during a discussion about Malaysian politics, started spewing off some racist nonsense about Indians. I said to him,”You know that Chinese people are descended from Indian ancestors, right?” That kind of shocked him. But you know, what I said is true and backed by scientific evidence.

Ultimately, the truth is, if you go back in time about 60,000-80,000 years ago, genetic studies all point to the same conclusion: All of modern humanity came out of Africa. From Africa, early homo sapiens migrated to Yemen, then spread to India, then moved on to South East Asia, Oceania, China, Korea, Japan, and so on.

The first migration from Africa was followed by two other major migrations which eventually led to the Americas being populated. So, you see, we’re actually all related. We had the same African ancestors. Which means all Malaysians are really brothers and sisters, and this can be proven with genetic testing.*

This is why I laugh outside but cry inside when I see room for rent advertisements in Malaysia, that include statements like “Chinese only” or “Muslim only”.

This is why I laugh outside but cry inside when I go to the cafeteria and see Chinese sitting in one corner with Chinese, Indians sitting in one corner with Indians, and Malays sitting in one corner with Malays.

This is why I laugh outside but cry inside when I see the current Malaysian government actively encouraging racism and bigotry for its own political benefit.

The simple fact is, we are all part of ONE HUMAN RACE. We can call ourselves Malay, Chinese, Indian, Negrito, Thai, Vietnamese, Arab, Jew, European, Russian, Korean, Japanese, Caucasian, Mexican, Native American, Inuit, etc. At the end of the day, the scientific truth is that we’re all branches of the same tree, grown from the same African seed. And if one branch tries to burn another branch, we’re really just hurting ourselves.

Unfortunately, most Malaysians today carry some kind of racial prejudice. I know I did, until I found out about humanity’s common ancestry. These racial prejudices are passed down generation after generation, from parents to their children. The children grow up, become parents, then repeat the same things to their children – and on and on the the vicious cycle goes.

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Managing Gen Y: Working With And Through Them

KUALA LUMPUR, June 10: Zubedy (M) Sdn. Bhd. launched a new product ‘Managing Generation Y: Working with and through them’ at their office in Kuala Lumpur today.

 

‘Managing Generation Y’ is a workshop that is designed to help management get the best of Generation Y.  “Generation Y is a product of a different time, upbringing, and culture”, comments Anas Zubedy, founder and Managing Director of Zubedy. “They need to be engaged differently to effectively assist them to perform better,” he added.

Anas went on to state that, “At the bottom of any programme, be they for Gen X or Gen Y, corporate goals should be the main focus. It is not about what Gen X or Gen Y wants, it is about what the company needs. Our job is to make employees happy and performing regardless of generation.”

With the launch of this programme and its mirror programme, ‘Gen Y 2.0 – How to get the best from Generation BB+X’, Zubedy plans to do more than addressing the situation one-sidedly but to also engage the Gen Y directly. An old Malay saying would explain the need aptly, ‘Bertepuk sebelah tangan tak akan berbunyi’.

Around 70 corporate and Human Resources leaders attended the launch. Bhuvanes Krishnasamy, Senior Manager of Human Resources at Sunway Property says, “The idea to have a mirror programme is unique and workable. It is not enough to deal with one side.”

Rosehaida Ab Rahman, General Manager, Human Resources, and Administration at iPerintis Sdn. Bhd. who have attended the Managing Gen Y programme says, “I like the way Zubedy approaches the generational challenge.  It is not about pointing fingers and complaining, it is more about finding the right formula, the right compromise.” Asrina Shariff from Energizer concurred with Rosehaida. She stressed, “The approach will be an eye opener to both Gen Y and those managing them. Both sides will come to realise that change affects all, not just one particular generation.”

Other guests include, the Chairperson of Women’s Institute of Management (WIM), Y. Bhg. Tan Sri Dato’ Napsiah Omar and Executive Director of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Africa Asia Destitute Relief Friendship Association (ADRF), Dr. Sharon Tong.

                                                                                                                         

Moderated by Alvin Fernandez, Zubedy’s Business Development Manager, the presentation included brief description of and findings from Zubedy’s Multigenerational Workforce survey done in 2012, as well as the features, approach and content of the Gen Y workshops.

A book which is especially dedicated to Gen Y – ‘#MoneyTalk: 139 easy guides on how to make and keep money without cheating or corruption’, was also launched simultaneously with the workshops. “It will serve as a reminder and act to supplement the workshops. Participants can have a quick recap of some of the lessons and tips recommended by simply reading the book,” adds Alvin.

Thank You for Helping Poor People See.

I am glad to report that we managed to collect 423 pairs of glasses. What it means is you and I are helping 423 poor people to see and improving the quality of their lives. An underprivileged kid will be able to pick up a book and read it in two months. An unfortunate old man will get to see his grandchildren’s smiles clearer. A woman too poor to afford glasses will be able to help her children with their homework now that her eyesight is improved.

This is the effort of many people. Among them are individuals like Jasmin Rejab and Anne Hooi as well as institutions like SMK Cochrane. But, one man stood out from the rest.

His name is Mr Chan Kong Chan. He owns an optometry franchise in Penang, one that I have been going to since 1981( http://www.ckcoptical.com/contact.php.htm). When I told him about Recycle for Sight, Mr Chan was quick to ask, “How many you want my friend? 100?”. But he ended giving 300 !!! Thank you brother!

On behalf of zubedy and Lion’s Club, we would like thank to everyone who has donated to this cause. You have already changed someone’s life for the better with your donation. Because of your help, the less fortunate ones now have better eyesight. 

Of toilets and political responses by Marina Mahathir - The STAR

Politics is not going to solve all our problems. Our dirty toilet habits are our own and we only have ourselves to blame, not others, nor the Government.

ONLY in Malaysia can I talk about toilets and still get a political response.

I was visiting Japan and commented about the super high-tech toilets there that do everything except make coffee (although that may well be coming soon) and some people still responded by blaming the Government for our dirty public toilets.

It’s enough to make any person get off social media before we lose our sanity permanently but this obsession with everything political is surely unhealthy and often misplaced.

Our dirty toilet habits are our own and we only have ourselves to blame, not others, nor the Government. Even if the Opposition became the government, we are not going to turn overnight into conscientious public toilet users.

That is, pun intended, a pipe dream.

Any visitor to Japan will not help noticing the extreme civic consciousness that the Japanese have.

On every train, there are signs and announcements reminding you to not talk on your mobile phones because it is likely to annoy others.

There are reminders that smoking can be irritating to non-smokers, even in special smoking rooms.

There is no litter to be seen anywhere and public toilets have special sound effects to mask your personal sounds, should you have any.

The service in restaurants and stores is beyond exemplary.

I left something in a restaurant restroom and only realised this an hour later.

A quick call to the restaurant elicited a promise to look for it once they get a chance (it’s a very popular restaurant).

An hour later, I got a call back to say that they found it.

On another occasion, the hotel concierge walked us to a nearby restaurant so we would not get lost.

Any question we asked was responded to with excruciating detail so we could not possibly misunderstand instructions or directions.

Sales assistants walked us out their front doors and bowed us farewell, even if we bought very little compared to others.

All pavements have yellow pathways for the convenience of the sight-disabled.

It is enough to make any visitor to Japan want to return often.

It is safe, clean and hassle-free.

Trains and buses arrive and depart at exactly when they say they will.

The only problem with Japan is the language.

If you don’t speak Japanese, you miss a lot of fine details.

Still, there is more English spoken and written today compared to when I lived there 27 years ago.

Furthermore, all you have to do is to look lost and someone is bound to offer help in perfect English.

The other problem is cost.

No matter how you look at it, and no matter what economic crisis Japan goes through, it is an expensive country to visit.

It is possible to eat and move about cheaply but by Japanese standards, not ours.

Still, for the many advantages of visiting the country, it’s probably worth it.

Which brings me back to our own. What would it take to become a country like Japan?

If it’s a lack of corrupt leaders, Japan has its fair share.

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