In our everyday lives, we are using our 5 senses to take in information in the world around us and to respond to it: touching, seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting. Have you ever thought about what could be the sixth sense, particularly when living in 21st century, in the age of information technologies, where everything is going online and mobile? Well, what discovered the MIT students is something that can totally be described as turning internet into the sixth human sense. Besides using all your 5 senses, now you are always in need of having some information from the computer or from internet. How about having all that with you and feeling like Tom Cruise in Minority Report? SixthSense is the latest invention from MIT folks, which gives you the opportunity to get on spot information about anything you want with just having a flat surface. SixthSense is a wearable gestural interface that augments the physical world around us with digital information and lets you use natural hand gestures to interact with that information. By using a camera and a tiny projector mounted in a pendant like wearable device, SixthSense sees what you see and visually augments any surfaces or objects we are interacting with. It projects information onto surfaces, walls, and physical objects around us, and lets you interact with the projected information through natural hand gestures, arm movements, or your interaction with the object itself. SixthSense attempts to free information from its confines by seamlessly integrating it with reality, and thus making the entire world your computer. This was also presented on the TED conference, and you can watch how Pattie Maes of the labs Fluid Interfaces group presents it. Profile: FLV Video Format (*.flv), Video Quality Normal, Video Codec flv, Video Resolation: 720X540 , Aspect Rato: Auto, Audio Quality: 64 kbps, Audio Codec: mp3, Audio Channel: 2 Channel Stereo, Sample Rate: 22050Hz, Audio Video Volume: 100%, Add By: Muktar Hussain.
For me, the seeds of poison were planted decades ago.
Just before I went overseas to study, I was sent for 'orientation' at a Mara hostel to ostensibly prepare myself for life abroad.
That weekend was a blur, and I recall four things:
1) Blocked toilets and flooded communal bathrooms.
2) Basic food, thus a friend's sister dropped off much needed rations of chocolates and 'kacang'.
3) How to wash your 'smalls' (underwear) in a cold country and have them dry by the next morning.
4) We assembled in small groups for out-of-door talks, in the school grounds. We were told that the Malays were the most supreme race in the world, we were God's chosen few, that the others were insignificant. We were warned about certain elements in our society and abroad, determined to undermine Malay excellence.
It was never meant to be a question-and- answer session and the lecturer omitted to qualify his contentious and contemptuous statements.
Just like my peers, my mind was focused on going overseas. In essence, we simply 'switched off'. Moreover, we hardly experienced any racial issues at our convent school.
Did I come out of that orientation a better person? Did I pick up new skills and ideas? Of the four things, the first two are just facets of Malaysian life; the third has been extremely practical, whilst the fourth left me disturbed and has lain fallow, until now.
After reading about the BTN (Biro Tatanegara or National Civics Bureau), I fear that much venom has been perpetuated. I may also have unwittingly experienced the inception of the BTN.
Ties have eroded
I am reminded by my grandparents and parents that after the last of the midnight chimes had heralded the arrival of Aug 31, 1957, everyone was ecstatic. It was a stirring moment.
Malays grasped the hands of Chinese, Indians embraced Malays. With 'Merdeka', Malaysians felt energised.
Fast forward to present-day Malaysia and the scene is stupefying. Malays eye the non-Malays with contempt and derision, whilst the non-Malays are consumed with frustration and resentment. A never-ending nightmare.
The ties that cemented us 52 years ago have eroded. Instead of acting as one, our differences have been emphasised; our similarities have all but diminished.
The new slogan, 1Malaysia, is a vain attempt to patch-up our differences. There is little point in using this sticking plaster to mend a wound that is deep and suppurating.
If we are instructed to be 'one', then something is wrong. If we are drilled to behave in a particular way, to be seen to be united, then this is a veiled and tacit acknowledgment that all is not well.
Somewhere after independence, we lost our focus. We took our eye off the ball.
We allowed ourselves to be massaged and manipulated into submissiveness by those who purported to lead us, but who have done us much damage - physically, spiritually, morally, financially, emotionally.
We are now a bunch of apathetic people who have to be led by the nose, who grumble only in private but hide any dissent in public. We are cowed into inactivity, resigned to our fate.
Why do we allow racism, corruption or inequality, practices which are unacceptable in the wider world, to prosper here? Why do we accept that when something goes wrong, no one is made accountable? Why is there a poor system of checks and balances? What happened to leadership by example?
The silent majority
The BTN is alleged to be divisive, racist and politically- motivated. The public is outraged; but politicians seem blind to these facts.
Some ministers claim that the courses instil patriotism and are harmless. In their view, segregating participants into specific groups of race and ethnicity, followed by humiliation, is considered not divisive. They may need to reassess their values.
Others say that the BTN is being revamped. Or upgraded. Or changed. Whatever. The truth is, the BTN runs counter to the ideals of a united Malaysia. It is time we dispensed with our politicians' knee-jerk reactions in their pathetic efforts to ameliorate the breakdown in public confidence.
How can the Umno information chief assume the role of BTN programme head? This is a conflict of interest. How does he isolate his political affiliations? He cannot possibly assume neutrality.
I have not experienced the BTN programme and hope that I never will.
When questions with political and religious undertones are incorporated, that is reason enough for the BTN to cease to operate and function.
When non-Malay Malaysians are chastised for their 'immigrant' status and are condescendingly told to be grateful to the Malays, that is wrong.
When only the contributions of the Malays are recognised for bringing peace and prosperity to the nation, that is positively abhorrent.
When Malays are warned not to mingle with non-Malays, when only Muslims are to be respected, that is despicable.
It is a mockery that 1Malaysia has boiled down to mean 'belonging to only one race'. And the shocking thing is that many Western-educated middle class Malays believe it.
Like the vines of our jungles, the BTN is strangling the ideals, aspirations and uniqueness of all Malaysian peoples.
I have been accused of being a traitor to my race, and religion just because I state what is obviously unfair, undemocratic and lacking in morals and principles.
I suspect they disapprove of me, mostly because I am a woman and a Malay, and dare to speak up about prickly issues. But I admire these people. At least, they are willing to express their views, however vile they may be. Unlike, the silent majority.
For these are the ones I appeal to, and who I wish would make a stand and do more to champion change, if only for the good and love and future of our nation.
In the final analysis, '1' more person, might make all the difference.
MARIAM MOKHTAR is a non-conformist traditionalist from Perak, a bucket chemist and an armchair eco-warrior. In 'real-speak' , this translates into that she comes from Ipoh, values change but respects culture, is a petroleum chemist and also an environmental pollution-control scientist.
MISSING private investigator P. Balasubramaniam has broken his 15-month silence, claiming that Prime Minister Najib Razak’s younger brother, Nazim, met and threatened him into withdrawing his first statutory declaration.
Bala alleged that carpet businessman Deepak Jaikishan, an aide of the Prime Minister’s wife, Rosmah Mansor, instructed him to meet Nazim on the day he made public his statutory declaration.
He said the first statutory declaration in which he claimed that Najjib had a relationship with murdered Mongolian model Altantuya Shariibuu, a lover of the Prime Minister’s associate Abdul Razak Baginda, was true.
But he withdrew it and signed a second declaration after he was taken to see Nazim at the Curve in Damansara on July 3 2008 when he was told by the Prime Minister’s architect brother to “follow instructions if he loves his family.”
According to Bala, the specific instruction to him was to withdraw the July 3rd statutory declaration and leave Malaysia immediately.
Hours after that meeting, Bala signed a second statutory declaration which was prepared for him and later issued to the media.
He and his family were then taken by road to Singapore before being flown to Thailand and and Nepal and eventually to India, where he has been hiding since.
Bala gave the startling account of the alleged threats made by Nazim in a tell all interview done overseas which concluded with him saying: “As a family man, I want to have a normal life. I want to put a stop to all this. ”
FreeMalaysiaToday was provided with excerpts of the interview done in the presence of three lawyers including Bala’s.
In the hour long interview, Bala gave an account of money allegedly promised by Deepak, whose orders Nazim told him to follow.
He claimed Deepak offered him a RM4 to RM5 million deal to sign the second statutory declaration retracting his allegation against Najib, and to remain overseas until Najib was installed as Prime Minister.
In the course of their conversations, Bala said Deepak related to him how he came to know Rosmah and even offered to arrange a breakfast meeting with the Prime Minister’s wife.
“(Deepak said) I can come back to Malaysia after Najib become the PM. (Also) he will make arrangements to have breakfast with Rosmah (for her to ) thank me ,” for retracting the first SD, Bala added.
However, no breakfast meeting took place with Rosmah, and Bala said he never received the RM5million sweetener promised to him.
Although Najib’s smooth ascension to power took place as scheduled in April this year, Bala saw little to suggest that he would be allowed to return to Malaysia to lead a normal life with his family.
Bala said Deepak gave him about RM750,000 in total to cover expenses for him and his family during their stay overseas. The money was mostly banked into his account with cheques issued by Carpet Raya Sdn Bhd, of which Deepak is a director.
Another revealation by Bala was his meeting with a Malaysian Police Special Branch team which tracked him to Bangkok in July last year.
Bala said the officer in charge of the Special Branch team, ASP Muniandy, asked him which of the two statutory declarations was true.
“ I told him the first SD was the true SD. Then he just shook my hand and said ‘You are really brave,’” Bala quoted Muniandy as saying.
He said the police team then proceeded to record a statement from him for nearly seven hours on the contents of the first statutory declaration and events leadings to the release of the document.
Given the circumstances of fear and continued harrassment against him and his family, Bala indicated he wanted to start his life afresh overseas with his family rather than returning to Malaysia as long as Najib and his people were in power.
Efforts to contact Nazim and Deepak were unsuccessful. Free Malaysia Today...
DESPITE stepping down in 2008 as executive director of Sisters in Islam (SIS) which she co-founded and led for two decades, Zainah Anwar has not retired from her commitment to women's rights and justice.
Currently project director of Musawah, a global movement for equality and justice for Muslim families, Zainah, 55, continues to travel the world to advance equal rights for Muslim women. On top of that, the daughter of one of Umno's founders is not one to stay quiet in the face of an injustice. The most recent example was when she lent support to Perlis Mufti Dr Mohd Azri Zainul Abidin following his arrest by the Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor.
A former journalist and one of the pioneering commissioners of the National Human Rights Commission or Suhakam, Zainah has also worked with the Institute of Strategic and International Studies and the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Still, she is most well-known for her work with SIS which has brought her and the organisation both acclaim and condemnation. The Nut Graph interviewed Zainah at the SIS office in Petaling Jaya on 22 Oct 2009, and traces the source of this activist's resilience.
TNG: Can you trace your ancestry?
Lithograph "Abyssinian Slaves Resting at Korti, Nubia" by David Roberts (all pics courtesy of Zainah Anwar)
Zainah Anwar: I love the story that my great grandmother was an Abyssinian slave whom my great grandfather bought, freed and married. He was an Islamic scholar from Muar who moved back and forth between Mecca and Muar. He brought his Abyssinian wife back to Johor to settle. Supposedly there were quite a few Abyssinians who were brought to Pahang and Johor during that period when religious scholars travelled between Mecca and the Malay states.
My great grandfather and his Abyssinian wife had only one child, who was my father's father. My father was born in 1898 in Muar and he died two months short of his 100th birthday.
My mum was born in Johor Baru. Her side is Malay but I'm not sure about the mix. There might be some Chinese and Indonesian blood.
What are some of the family stories or aspects of your childhood that were formative of who you are today?
With siblings Ahmad Zaki, now an artist, and Zarinah (right), now chairperson of the Securities Commission
Our family is a story of mixed races. I'm very proud of the fact that we have different bloods in us. There's Malay, Minang, Javanese, Abyssinian, Arab, Chinese and also one extinct race, according to my father. I grew up embracing the pluralism of Malaysian society. I had neighbours who were Malay, Chinese and Indian [Malaysians]. I went to a school that had all races and my closest friends include all races, from young until today. I went to an English school, the Sultan Ibrahim Girls' School where I had a cosmopolitan and liberal education.
My father, (corrected) Tan Sri Anwar Abdul Molek, even though he was socially conservative, was intellectually very liberal. He was part of the Kaum Muda in Johor. He believed in religious reform, was critical of the ulamak and he was against closed-mindedness. He spoke English fluently and was an avid reader. We had subscriptions to Life magazine, the Readers' Digest, three newspapers a day — which were the Utusan Melayu, the Jawi version then, Straits Times, and The Malay Mail. We also had a subscription to Dewan Masyarakat.
So in terms of trying to explain why I am open minded, it's because I grew up in that kind of environment. Books, newspapers, magazines laid all over the house. Breakfast, lunch and dinner could only be served after the BBC world news at 8am, 1pm and 8pm were over. My father had two shortwave radios, one upstairs and one downstairs to listen to world news.
When were you born and what were some of the exciting times you lived through?
I was born in 1954 into a very political household. My father was a contemporary and political comrade of Datuk Onn Jaafar; so politics was very much in our family. My father took part in local elections but lost in the Johor Baru municipal council elections on the Parti Negara ticket.
In my childhood, all kinds of people came to our house, my father's old political comrades and his Malay, Chinese and Indian friends and others who came for help. Our front door was always open and people just came and went. After retirement in 1954, my father sat on many boards — all in a voluntary capacity. He would help the poor and needy irrespective of race.
Family photo, where Zainah is sitting on her father's lap (at the top of the stairs). Her mother (left) is holding her brother Ahmad Zaki. Sitting next to them is elder sister Zarinah. The two other girls in the photo are Zainah's half-sisters.
As a retired division one civil servant, people needed his signature for this or that government application, for aid, scholarship, or licence. He helped many poor Chinese and poor Malays get stalls when the new JB (Johor Baru) market opened. I remember the flower person, the chicken person and the vegetable person, who were all Chinese. Because my father helped them, whenever we went marketing they would not take money from us. My mother thought this was great! But my father was very strict and he would instruct us to pay or buy from another stall. But during Raya, they would send us live chicken, flowers and durian when it was in season.
I love the fact that my father's friends in Umno who later became rich in Kuala Lumpur would remark to me that they do not make men like him these days. He was a man of honour and integrity. The kind of man who would hand over the receipts of all our Raya purchases in Singapore to the Customs officer at the Causeway so that he could pay all the taxes! He was the chair[person] of the organising committee of the the Johor Baru Grand Prix and yet he would not give his children free tickets to watch. There was an invitation card for two persons and my mother would take one child per day to the grandstand, while the others joined neighbours and relatives on the grassy slopes.
Tell us about your father's links with Datuk Onn Jaafar.
He was private secretary to three of Johor's menteris besar, including Datuk Onn. My father was one of the six men who founded Umno.
Zainah's parents, Tan Sri Anwar Molek and Puan Sri Saodah Abdullah in the 1990s.
The British effort in 1946 to form the Malayan Union, which would have transferred Johor's sovereignty to the King of England, led to protests among the Johor Malays, and disbelief that the Sultan had signed over his sovereignty to the British Crown.
Protests also erupted in other parts of the country. My father felt the only way the Malays could fight this attempt to take over the country was if all the Malay organisations in the Malay states were united under one organisation. And there had to be one strong leader to lead the protest movement. He felt that that man could only be the fearless Datuk Onn, who was then the Batu Pahat district officer.
My father and two friends, Syed Alwi al-Hadi and Syed Abdul Rahman Abu Bakar, drove there to discuss with Datuk Onn this urgent need to bring all the Malay associations together under one umbrella. It was on that momentous night that Datuk Onn dictated the historic letter to Utusan Melayu calling on all the Malays to come together in one United Malay Organisation.
The name "Umno" which is actually in English — first came from my father. He was inspired by the formation of the United Nations to bring world peace after the end of World War II. Since this was an effort to make every disparate party more loyal to their state and Sultan than to a nation together, he came up with the name United Malays Organisation. It was Umo at first, until the big meeting [the first Malay Congress] at the Sultan Sulaiman Club [in Kuala Lumpur] where [Zainal Abidin Ahmad] Za'aba then added the word "national", and it became Umno.
What role did your mother play?
Zainah in May 2006 at the SIS conference "Trends in Islamic Family Law Reform". Seated are the daughters of three past prime ministers, Nori Abdullah, Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir and Hanis Hussein.
My mother, Puan Sri Saodah Abdullah, was a model homemaker, an extremely capable woman. But I always felt sad that she did not reach her full potential. She could have been a doctor.
She was so interested in medicine; she was in the St John's Brigade, she was in the Red Cross, she knew everything about first aid and nutrition, and she had this huge dictionary of medicine in Jawi that she always referred to.
But she was born in 1922 and there were no opportunities for her further education. She went to a domestic science school where she was an outstanding student, and later gave cooking and sewing classes. During those early days of Umno, she opened her house to women who ostensibly left home to attend sewing classes, but who were actually organising protests against the Malayan Union.
My nationalist father wanted to send us to a Malay school and it was one of the few times my mother held out against him. My father was such a patriarch who expected to be served hand and foot, and my mother was the good obedient wife. But when it came to our education, she had greater ambitions for us. At that time, if you went to a Malay school, you ended up being a Malay school teacher. But she wanted her children to be financially independent and successful professionals.
It's clear where you get your sense of advocacy and value system from.
Zainah (second from right), with other SIS founding members at the organisation's launch in 1991 by then Minister in charge of Women Tan Sri Napsian Omar (left).
My father brought us up with strong values. I remember when Tun Hussein Onn became prime minister, my father received an endless stream of visitors arriving in Mercedes cars. These business[people] wanted my father to be chair[person] or director of this or that company. My father would be totally baffled. He would tell them that he had no money to invest in their companies, so how could he sit on the board.
They just wanted his name because they thought my father would be able to get them access to the new prime minister. So he sent them off packing.
When I went to study at Institut Teknologi Mara, my father insisted on paying a token sum even though pensioners' children did not have to pay fees to study there. In fact, we could even get a small monthly stipend. I remember I was shocked to find friends whose fathers were wealthy business[people] getting the monthly allowance, just because their fathers were also pensioners. But my father felt that since he could afford it, he shouldn't be depriving another poor person of the privilege.
What kind of Malaysia do you want for yourself and future generations?
With Nelson Mandela, "the only man I ever wanted to marry", on his visit to Malaysia in 1990 after his release from 27 years in prison.
I want a Malaysia that truly celebrates its diversity and sees this as strength. This is not something difficult because it's in our blood, in our history. We once embraced our Hindu, Buddhist, and Muslim heritage that enriched us.
Nobody felt that we were lesser Muslims because we had wedding ceremonies that adapted practices from the Hindu tradition, or that we performed the wayang kulit. The Malays were once confident and proud of their identity. How did it come to today where Malay [Malaysians] now feel under siege? It's politicians with their short-term interest who have created this siege mentality. "Mati Umno, matinya Melayu". Please lah, this is 2009! Malay [Malaysians] will survive even if Umno is dead! There are more Malay [Malaysian] Members of Parliament now than ever before.
I also want for every Malaysian to have the opportunity to realise their full potential. Especially now, when we are competing globally. We urgently need to do something about the education system. It's creating bigger class divisions. Rich Malaysians are sending their children to private schools, while the national school system remains 90% mono-ethnic. We're losing the kids who have a cosmopolitan upbringing and global outlook to the private school system.
Now the better off Malay [Malaysians] are sending their children to private schools as well, educating them to compete globally. If this regression, fundamentalism, intolerance, the obsession to control every minute detail of our lives and our choices does not stop, if everything continues to be seen as a threat to the Muslims and the Malays, more of the best are going to leave Malaysia, and that includes the best of Malay [Malaysians].
WHAT AN INCREDIBLE PHENOMENON THIS BOY IS AND SUCH NOBLE ASPIRATIONS.
This lad indeed has a gifted brain.... His parents used to sell portion of their investments to purchase his Medicine related books that he wanted to study and today he gets everything from people who really want him to fulfill his dreams....
A year ago a footage emerged from a remote village in India . The video showed a young girl receiving surgery to separate her fingers, which were badly burned and fused together. Why did this operation make headlines around the world? The surgery was performed by a 7-year-old boy named Akrit Jaswal.
Now 13 years old, Akrit has an IQ of 146 and is considered the smartest person his age in India a country of more than a billion people. Before Akrit could even speak, his parents say they knew he was special.
'He learned very fast,' says Raksha, Akrit's mother. 'After learning the alphabet, we started to teach him joining of words, and he started writing as well. He was two.'
At an age when most children are learning their ABCs, Akrit was reading Shakespeare and assembling a library of medical textbooks. When he was 5 years old, he enrolled in school. One year later, Akrit was teaching English and math classes.
Akrit developed a passion for science and anatomy at an early age. Doctors at local hospitals took notice and started allowing him to observe surgeries when he was 6 years old. Inspired by what he saw, Akrit read everything he could on the topic. When an impoverished family heard about his amazing abilities, they asked if he would operate on their daughter for free. Her surgery was a success. After the surgery, Akrit was hailed as a medical genius in India . Neighbors and strangers flocked to him for advice and treatment. At age 11, Akrit was admitted to Punjab University . He's the youngest student ever to attend an Indian university. That same year, he was also invited to London 's famed Imperial College to exchange ideas with scientists on the cutting edge of medical research.
Akrit says he has millions of medical ideas, but he's currently focused on developing a cure for cancer. 'I've developed a concept called oral gene therapy on the basis of my research and my theories,' he says. 'I'm quite dedicated towards working on this mechanism.'
Growing up, Akrit says he used to see cancer patients lying on the side of the road because they couldn't afford treatment or hospitals had no space for them.. Now, he wants to use his intellect to ease their suffering. '[I've been] going to hospitals since the age of 6, so I have seen firsthand people suffering from pain,' he says. 'I get very sad, and so that's the main motive of my passion about medicine, my passion about cancer.'
Currently, Akrit is working toward a bachelor's degrees in zoology, botany and chemistry. Someday, he hopes to continue his studies at Harvard University .
On 1/11/2009, I was invited to attend as a special guest by Mr G Sivasangara Rao, President, Independent Living & Training Centre to attend a Building Fund raising event at The Plenary Hall, Kuala lumpur Convention Centre. The event was succesful. I managed to snap a few pictures from the 1st floor, as the ground floor was reserved for VVIP's.
By James Chin NOV 2 — In the past week, newspapers in Sarawak have been covering a story of an Iban-Chinese girl who was denied a place in the matriculation programme because she was deemed a “non-Bumiputera”. This is what the Borneo Post (Oct 29) reported:
“KUCHING: Getting her Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) result was the best — and the worst — thing that could happen to Marina Undau.The 18-year-old science stream student of SMK Simanggang scored 9As and 1B in the SPM examination last year. She thought she was on her way to university, especially being a Bumiputera and all, but that was not to be. Born to an Iban father and a Chinese mother, Marina’s life was turned upside down when her application to undergo a university matriculation programme was rejected by the Ministry of Education. The ministry determined that she is not a ‘Bumiputera’…
“Seated between her parents, Undau Liap and Wong Pick Sing, the disappointment in the teenager was obvious. Speaking in Iban, she said: ‘Aku amai enda puas ati nadai olih nyambung sekula ngagai universiti (I’m very sad that I can’t pursue my university education).’ With no chance of entering a university for now, Marina has started Form 6 in her old school.
“Asked what she thought of everything that was happening, she replied: ‘What worries me is that will this happen again when I pass my STPM next year? If I get good results, what’s next?’
“In Sarawak, under the federal constitution, both parents must be ‘native’ in order for the offspring to be classified as a ‘Bumiputera’.”
In case you are curious how they play the blood game, this is the official definition used by the Student Intake Management Division, Higher Learning Department and Higher Education Ministry:
You are a Bumiputera if
• Semenanjung — “Jika salah seorang ibu atau bapa calon adalah seorang Melayu yang beragama Islam/Orang Asli seperti mana yang ditakrifkan dalam Perkara 160(2) Perlembagaan Persekutuan; maka anaknya adalah dianggap seorang Bumiputera.” (If either parent of a candidate is a Malay who is a Muslim/Orang Asli as defined in Article 160 (2) of the Federal Constitution, the child is considered a Bumiputera.)
• Sabah — “Jika bapa calon adalah seorang Melayu yang beragama Islam/Peribumi Sabah seperti yang ditakrifkan dalam Perkara 161A(6)(a) Perlembagaan Persekutuan; maka anaknya adalah dianggap seorang Bumiputera.” (If the father of the candidate is a Malay who is a Muslim/native of Sabah as defined by Article 161A(6)(a) of the Federal Constitution, the child is considered a Bumiputera.)
• Sarawak — “Jika bapa dan ibu adalah seorang Peribumi Sarawak seperti mana yang ditakrifkan dalam Perkara 161A(6)(b) Perlembagaan persekutuan; maka anaknya adalah dianggap seorang Bumiputera.” (If the father and mother is a native of Sarawak as defined under Article 161A(6)(b) of the Federal Constitution, the child is considered a Bumiputera.)
Since this story broke, many others from mixed, i.e. native-Chinese background, have come forward to tell their appalling stories about not being able to enter matriculation classes and a direct route to a public university.
Just in case you do not know, to enter a public university in Malaysia, you can either do the one-year matriculation programme or the two-year STPM. But there is a catch. The matriculation is only available to Bumiputeras so all the non-Bumiputeras must take the STPM route. It is also common knowledge that matriculation is much easier than STPM and once you get in, you are almost certain to get a university place. Hence, the desperate rush to get into matriculation (see quoted story above).
Oh, before you get any ideas in your head, according to the government, we practice “meritocracy” in the intake of university students! But don’t ask hard questions like why matriculation is restricted or that there is a separate university for Bumiputeras only.
What really bothers me is not the individual sad stories about how children from native-Chinese marriages are denied their Bumiputera rights, but how the media is only reporting from one side. All the stories tell of how their future is damaged since they cannot get into the matriculation programme, and how they are “forced” to go to STPM or Sixth Form.
It is truly shocking that none of the newspaper dare to write the real angle of the story — how about the thousands of poor Chinese students who are denied a place in university because they are completely shut off from the matriculation programme. Are you telling me that there are no poor Chinese or Indians in Sarawak, or that all poor non-Bumiputeras in Sarawak, or for that matter in the whole of Malaysia, happily go into the two-year, tougher STPM and “try their luck” with university admission?
Why do the newspapers only focus on the children of mixed marriages?
Isn’t this exactly why normal people become racist when they see this sort of shenanigans happening right in front of them? How do you explain to your child that she cannot enter university because she was born of the “wrong” race? Education is one of the most basic human rights and here we using higher education to turn an ordinary human being into a racist — all because someone is obsessed with the definition of race. No wonder Sarawak is the model for 1 Malaysia!
'I don't feed beggars. They can look after themselves. The mentally ill won't ask anyone for food or money,' says N Krishnan who has been feeding them thrice a day for the past seven years.
For more information on N Krishnan's trust, log on to: http://www.akshayat rust.org/
Left 5-star job to feed the mentally ill
N Krishnan feeds 400 mentally ill people on the streets of Madurai three times a day, every day, all 365 days of the year. The 28 year old has been doing this for seven years via a charity called the Akshaya Trust.
A look into the kitchen reveals a spotlessly clean room.. Sparkling vessels stacked neatly, groceries and provisions all lined up in rows -- rice, dal, vegetables, spices -- all of the best quality.. One would think this was the kitchen of a five star hotel.
Maybe Krishnan achieves that effect because he was once a chef at a five star hotel in Bengaluru.
"Today's lunch is curd rice, with home made pickle, please taste it," he says, serving me on a plate made of dried leaves. The food is excellent.
"I change the menu for different days of the week. They will get bored if I serve the same food every day," he says with an enthusiastic and infectious smile.
Image: N Krishnan feeds a mentally ill person on a Madurai street Photographs: A Ganesh நாடார்
Krishnan feeds 400 mentally ill people every day
Krishnan cooks breakfast, lunch and dinner with the help of two cooks. He takes it himself to his wards on the street each day.
"I don't feed beggars. They can look after themselves. The mentally ill won't ask anyone for food or money. They don't move around much too. I find them in the same place every day."
That morning he put the food in a large vessel, the pickle in a smaller one and loaded it into a Maruti van donated by a Madurai philanthropist.
Ten minutes later we stopped near a man lying on the ground by a high wall. Krishnan put the food next to him. The man refused to even look at it, but grabbed the water bottle and drank eagerly. "He will eat the food later, looks like he was very thirsty," said Krishnan.
At the next stop, he laid the dry leaf-plate and served the food. He then scooped some food and started feeding the mentally ill man himself. After two morsels, the man started eating on his own.
We then crossed a crowded traffic signal and stopped the vehicle. On seeing Krishnan, four individuals moved slowly towards the Maruti van. They stood out in the crowd with their dirty, tattered clothes and unshaven beards. They knew this Maruti van meant food. But they did not hurry, knowing that Krishnan would wait for them. Krishnan served them under a tree and carried water for them. "They are not aware enough to get their own water," he explained.
And thus we went around the city till the Akshaya patra was empty. Of course, it would be full again for dinner later in the day.
Image: Krishnan's wards often approach him when they see his food-laden van
Past 7 years
As we returned, a startling fact hit me. Not a single mentally challenged person had thanked Krishnan. They did not even smile or acknowledge him. Still Krishnan carried on in a world where most of us get offended if someone doesn't say thank you, sometimes even for doing our jobs.
The food costs Rs 8,000 a day, but that doesn't worry him. "I have donors for 22 days. The remaining days, I manage myself. I am sure I will get donors for that too, people who can afford it are generally generous, particularly when they know that their hard earned money is actually going to the poor. That is why I maintain my accounts correctly and scrupulously." He then pulled out a bill from the cabinet and showed it to me. It was a bill for groceries he had bought seven years ago. "This bill has sentimental value. It is the first one after I started Akshaya."
The economic slowdown has resulted in a drop in the number of donors. Earlier, they sustained meals for 25 days. Software giants Infosys and TCS were so impressed with his work that they donated three acres of land to him in Madurai . Krishnan hopes to build a home for his wards there. He has built the basement for a woman's block which will house 80 inmates, but work has currently halted due to a lack of funds.
Five idlis
This, however, is not the sum of his good deeds. Krishnan also performs the funerals of unclaimed bodies in Madurai . He collects the body, bathes it and gives it a decent burial or cremation as the need may be.
He gets calls, both from the municipal corporation and general hospital for the funerals.
He recalls with a little prompting how one day he saw a mentally ill man eating his excreta. He rushed to the nearest restaurant and bought the man five idlis. The man ate voraciously, and then smiled at him. The smile made Krishnan want to do it again and again.
Krishnan has not married and wonders if anyone would want to marry a man who spends his days cooking food for others. He is firm that his life partner has to agree to this kind of life.
His parents were initially shocked, but are now very supportive of their son. They advise him about the cuisine and also about how he can streamline the process.
One wonders why he left his job in a five star hotel to bury the dead and feed the mentally ill. To this he just smiles and says, "I like doing it."
T H A N K you Mr.Krishnan !
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
தோட்டபுரத்தில் இருக்கும் போது கூட இவ்வளவு கஷ்டம் படவில்லை என இந்த தாய் என்னிடம் கூறுகிறார். படிவம் நான்கு வரையில் காராக், பகாங் இடைநிலை பள்ளியில் படித்தவர். தன் தாயார் நோயில் அடிப்பட்டதால் இவர் மேலும் கல்வியை தொடரமுடியாமல் போயிற்று. அடிக்கடி பெரிய மருத்துவ மனைக்கு செல்லவேண்டி இருந்ததால் இவர்கள் கோலா லும்பூர் வந்தார்கள். இங்கு சரோஜா தன் மாமனை திருமணம் செய்யவேண்டிதாகிற்று.
திருமண வாழ்கை சில காலங்களே ஆயின நான்கு மாதத்திலேயே சரோஜவிக்கு இழுப்பு ஏற்பட்டது..இவரால் தன் கணவருக்கு முழுமையான சுகம் கொடுக்க இல்லாமல் போனது.மனைவிக்கு உடல்நலம் சரில்லாதபோத்து குஉட கணவருக்கு அதில் தான் மிகுந்த நாட்டம்.. இதனிடையே மகனும் பிறந்தான். இல்லற பிரச்னை தலைதூக்கியது.. கணவர் இவரை விட்டு போய் விட்டார்.
சரோஜா அருகாமையில் அமைந்த டெக்ஸ்கோ வில் கணக்கு வேலை செய்து தன் தாயையும் மகனையும்கவனித்து வந்தார். ஒரு நாள் அதுவும் விடுமுறை நாளில் வலிப்பு வந்து விழுந்து விட்டார். பிறகு தான் தெரிய வந்தது சரோஜாவுக்கு தலையில் புற்றுநோய் கண்டுள்ளது என்று.. அக்கம் பக்கம் குடிஇருப்பவர்கள் சரோஜாவுக்கு மருத்துவ செலவுக்காக பண உதவி செய்தார்கள் .மருத்துவ செலவுகளை ஹர்டமஸ் மஇக செய்து உதவினர். பிறகு வேல்பாரே அமாவுக்கும் மகளுக்கும் இன்று வரை தலா நூறு வெள்ளி கொடுதுவருகிறதாம் வாடகை வீடு மூநூறு வெள்ளி ....தலை அறுவைசிகிச்சைக்கு பிறகு சரோஜாவுக்கு நினவு குறைந்துவிட்டதாம், முன்பு போதல வேலை செய்ய முடியாது, இருந்தும் வீடிலிருந்து சிறு தொழில் செய்து வருகிறார்கள். கோம்மிசின் வொர்க் .
முதலில் மஇகா கிளை தலைவர்கள் இவர்களுக்கு மருத்துவ செலவுகளை ஏற்று கொண்டனர். மிகா வின் உதவிக்கு நன்றி உருகின்றார்.இக்கடான நேரத்தில் இவர்கள் உதவி செய்ய வில்ல என்றால் இன்று என்னிடம் உறவாட கூட அவர் இருந்திருக்க மாட்டாராம். வருகின்ற தீபாவளிக்கு வேண்டிய செலவு பொருட்கள் வாங்க கூட பணம் இல்லை .இன்று கூட மருத்துவ மனக்கு ஸ்கேன் செய்ய சென்று என்ன காண வந்தார்கள். தீபாவளி கொண்டாடம் எல்லோருக்கும் உண்டு எங்களுக்கு இல்லை என வருத்தத்துடன் கூறுகிறார் சரோஜா. இவரது மகன் பெயரர் தினேஸ் வயதுஆறு பாலார் பள்ளி படிக்கிறான் இன்று தாயார் ருடன் மருத்துவ மனைக்கு உடன் வந்துளான். நல்ல டான்ஸ் ஆடுவானாம் . கவலைபடாதிங்க மா நான் டான்ஸ் ஆடி உங்களை வாழவைக்கிறேன் என சொல்லுகிறான். சொந்தம் பந்தங்கள் இருந்தும் இல்லாதவர்களாக இருக்கும் இந்த சரோஜா முள்ளில் வாழுகிறாள் . அவள் இருக்கும் வரையாவது நல்ல உள்ளங்கள் உதவுவார்களா?
Islam is not a new religion, but the same truth that God revealed through all His prophets to every people. For a fifth of the world's population, Islam is both a religion and a complete way of life. Muslims follow a religion of peace, mercy, and forgiveness, and the majority have nothing to do with the extremely grave events which have come to be associated with their faith.
MARIAM MOKHTAR is a non-conformist traditionalist from 
Arabic 
