MCA, the opportunist

MCA is desperate as they know they will face oblivion come GE13. In order to shore up what little is left in them, they are constantly on the lookout, cherry picking the DAP on issues which they deem is detrimental to the Chinese community. Of recent times, the cherry picker was Tan Cheng Lian, former Chairman of the Penang Port Commission. Now comes Theng Book of Selangor MCA who has been lambasting the DAP on the JAIS raid. I wonder whether this bloke has done enough of his homework before opening his mouth, much to the chagrin of the Chinese community.

MCA is responsible for the present fiasco, period, and yet they prefer to blame others for the problems created by them.

There are four existing state Islamic legislation that give the authorities wide powers to act on religious matters, namely:

• Enakmen Jenayah Syariah (Selangor) 1995 (“Enakmen Jenayah”);

• Enakmen Ugama Bukan Islam (Kawalan Pengembangan di Kalangan Orang Islam) 1988 (“Enakmen Ugama Bukan Islam”);

• Administration of the Religion of Islam (State of Selangor) Enactment 2003; and

• Syariah Criminal Procedure (State of Selangor) Enactment 2003.

Look at the dates. The Bills were all passed pre-2008, i.e. before the take over of the state by Pakatan. MCA was then part of the state government during the aforesaid period and they fully supported UMNO in passing the Bills. Now they have the audacity to put the blame on DAP? In fact the person who was most vocal on the passing of these bills was none other than the present speaker of the state assembly and DAP leader, Teng Chang Khim.

MCA = Make Christians Angry!

A Senator is a potential arsonist

Ever since the uprising of the Palestine Liberation Front (PLO) in the 70s and later, the destruction of the World Trade Centre in New York, the perception of Islam has not been favourable. It is viewed by many westerners with suspicion as a religion of violence, hate and intolerance that wish to dominate the world and wipe away all infidel non-Muslims from the face of the earth. A new word such as "Islamophobia" was born.

However, since the 2001 event, much steps were taken by both sides, the Christian west and Islamic countries to bridge the gap with the hope of removing any mistrust that may still linger in the minds of the people. Many peace loving people lauded these efforts.

Now, on the home front, it is a different picture entirely. There are two Islamic political parties vying for the attention of the majority Muslims of the country. A decade ago, PAS was seen as the extreme and UMNO, the liberal. After the 1999 GE, Lim Kit Siang in his usual foresight made a press statement saying that UMNO will out-Islamise PAS. Twelve years on and this is coming true.

A year or two before the 2008 GE, PAS has soften it's stand on religious issues and in no time, non-Muslim Malaysians were embracing the revered Tok Guru. This change of heart from PAS became more pronounced when on March 16 2008, a month after the 2008 GE, Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, the newly elected MP for Kuala Selangor, attended a full Sunday Mass at the St Paul the Hermit Church in Ijok. On March 27 2008, the newly elected MP for Shah Alam, Khalid Samad attended mass at the Church of Divine Mercy in Glenmarie, to thank the parishioners for their support during the general election.

UMNO on the other hand, a party supposedly to operate on a liberal platform, turned a 180 degrees. Their image of being a "Christian-hater" has evolved from bad to worse, with the likes of PERKASA, UTUSAN and PEMBELA joining forces in creating adverse perceptions about the Christian community. The latest is the Damansara Utama Methodist Church raid, a charity thanksgiving dinner by Harapan Komuniti spun into something sinister and evil against the Muslim community.

Not to be left out of the limelight, comes ex-PKR Ezam Mohd Nor, now an UMNO senator. After the Friday prayers, in front of 200 people, he threatened to burn down the offices of Malaysiakini and The Malaysian Insider for writing articles on the JAIS raid, claiming that this was disrepectful to Islam. Now this is something worth noting. While the Muslim world is trying to play down the "hate" and "violent" tags, why is this fella reinforcing that perception? More so, this is "bulan mulia", what happen to "peace" and "compassion", the cornerstone of Islamic teachings? With all this hate-mongering going on, do you honestly expect the Christian investors overseas to invest in this country knowing that their offices could be burnt down at any time should something inadvertently be said? In fact, if Ezam has any integrity and honour left in him, we would like to know when is he going to disclose the boxes of files pertaining to corruption cases in UMNO.

Recently, The Star promoted non-halal food in their "Buka Puasa" supplement. Now this is disrectful as otherwise the Home Minister would not have hauled the editor up with a warning. Despite an apology from Star, PERKASA issued a warning that theirs is a reminder to the company to behave themselves. In view of such disrepectful act to Islam, will Ezam be including The Star office on his arson list?

It is really uncanny. Doesn't Ezam look like Ibrahim Ali?

The Power of Kindness

In view of the recent raid on the DUMC and how kindness can be misconstrued as something sinister or evil, allow me to share this with those concerned what a little kindness can do. One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal, he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry and so she brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, "How much do I owe you?"

"You don't owe me anything," she replied. "Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness." He said, "Then I thank you from my heart." As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strengthened also. He had been ready to give up and quit. Years later, that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease. Dr. Howard Kelly* was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, he went down the hall of the hospital to her room. Dressed in his doctor's gown, he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day, he gave special attention to the case. After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested from the business office to pass the final billing to him for approval. He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge, and the bill was sent to her room. She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally, she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She read these words:

"PAID IN FULL WITH ONE GLASS OF MILK..." (Signed) Dr. Howard Kelly

Ong Tee Keat - an Independent?

To contest or not to contest as an Independent, that is the question which must be uppermost on Ong Tee Keat's mind now that the GE13 is around the corner, and coupled with his soured relationship with Chua Soi Lek, there is every likelihood he may not be even selected to stand for the Pandan seat again, well at least not under the MCA/BN banner.

Many political commentators have suggested that he should join DAP, but then again I doubt that this will ever happen, without him losing his grassroot support that have been rooting for him for these past many general elections. On the other hand, there is also that likelihood that DAP would not want him out of fear of the frog syndrome, especially when one comes from the BN. Furthermore, OTK is a MCA man through and through, you know "Chinese first, Malaysian second" albeit his non-racial attitudes towards the other races.

But then again, like they say, politicians make strange bedfellows. One moment enemy, the next moment, the best of friends. So in the case of Ong Tee Keat, shall we say, "Expect the unexpected?"

However, as an advice, it would be best for him to walk away from MCA. As Chua Soi Lek is strengthening his grip on the party, there is very little hope of him regaining the presidency again. That reminds me of that Matt Monro's song, "Walk Away".

Walk away, please go

Before you throw your life away

............................

............................

Walk away, and leave

A life that's full with no regrets

.............................

Just try to forget

Why build a dream, that cannot come true

So be strong, reach the stars now

Walk away, walk on.

The penalty for treason

In case the illiterates and/or the ignorants are still not aware, to give away citizenships to foreigners in exchange for votes, is by all account considered an act of TREASON. However, the accused can opt for anyone of the following to end his miserable ungrateful life.

Monday Humour

Why men die earlier than women ....

Church and Charity

I would like to make reference to the news report in the Malaysiakini on August 7 2011, "If Muslims turn to others for help, who's to blame?"

In the early 70s, I was involved with one of our church charity movements, the St Vincent de Paul Society For the Poor. The aim of this society is to care for the poor and impoverished living in the vicinity of our parish, be they Malays, Chinese or Indians. We have monthly collections from the parishioners and these monies were then used to buy provisions for the poor, such as a packet of rice, sugar, salt, salted fish, a can of condensed milk, and biscuits, that would probably not last more than 10 days. No cash was handed out for fear of it being abused. We distributed the rations on the first Saturday of each month in the church compound. Even though with such meager handouts, some of these elderly folks would come early, sometimes to sit under the hot sun to wait for opening of the ration door. They would queue up in an orderly manner and many a time after they have collected their rations, some of them out of gratitude would cling onto our clothes and cried.

Once a quarter some of us would pay the families a visit and I must admit the living conditions were appalling. The Indians who were living in Kampong Pandan have to share their abode with cows. However, should one child finds a job, they will be removed from the ration list to be replaced by another deserving family. The living conditions of the Chinese and Malays were no better either. But no matter what, we tried to help them the best we could.

There was never at any one time when the thought of converting these poor folks to Christians crossed our minds. We were there to serve the poor to alleviate their sufferings. Now to be told by Hasan Ali that we give handouts to convert the Malays is really a low blow. I am no longer with the movement but I am sure that despite the unkind remarks made by Hasan Ali, the SVDP will continue to assist the destitute irrespective of race or religion.