Wishing all readers a prosperous Year of the rabbit.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
The Interlok issue
Image via Wikipedia
A very heated debate happen earlier this month about a book name Intelok, written by National Laureate winner Abdullah Hussain. Earlier reports in the newspaper mention of a spat happening in the Indian community of Malaysia over the "P" word or known as Pariah, a derogatory term for an Indian person. That was what was reported in the newspaper of lately, but I think that is not the case at the moment.
In the Letters section of the News Straits Time dated 27th January 2011 an Indian lady wrote in and this was what she found when she reading the book. Presumably, she is a teachers in a school in Kuala Lumpur.
(as quoting from the article)
I thought the only issue was with the P-word. However, I would like to point out that there is more to it and it is totally degrading to the Indian community,
There have also been numerous instances when a certain books and drawings were deemed disrespectful to a majority of Malaysians and demonstrations were held. The offending books were then banned.
Why the double standard? Let me point out a few examples in Interlok that are bad for national unity.
"Maniam, seperti orang India yang lain, tidak pernah khuatir tentang keselamatan isterinya".( Page 218)
Does this mean Indian men do not care about their wives' safety?
the paragraph with the P-word is contained in this sentence: " Mereka yang dari arah ke utara sedikit bercakap Bahasa Malayalam atau Telugu, tetapi hampir semuanya tahu Bahasa Tamil. Malayalam dan Telugu pun berasal dari satu rumpum bahasa Dravidia. Satu perkara besar yang membuatkan mereka senang bergaul adalah kerana mereka tergolong dalam satu kasta....(the P-word)(Page 211)
Loosely translated, it means that the Indians in Malaysia can get along well with each another because they are all of the "p" caste.
So, does this mean they cannot get along well with the other races in Malaysia or even other Indians who are not from the same caste?
"Mereka berasak-asak seperti kambing" (page 211)
Is the esteemed author now comparing Indians to goats?
"Tidak makan tengah hari tidak mendatangkan masalah, asalkan dia dapat mengunyah sirihnya seperti lembu atau kambing memamah biak." (page 224)
Is this another comparison of an Indian to cows and goats?
"Dia gertak sahaja, orang kulit hitam ini tentu takut kecut," (page 253)p
Why the need to label Indians as dark skinned? Are all Indians this color? and why the need to talk about skin color at the first place?
"Dia berasa bangga kerana anjing orang putih itu jinak dengannya," (page 276)
Is the Indian man so low in his opinion of himself that he takes pride in the fact that the white man's dog is friendly towards him?
Suthichana Puvandran
Kuala Lumpur
The two ends of the stick:
- Some defended the book saying it will cause healthy discussion and will avoid name calling after its being taught in the classes
- Some said it is accordance to the era mention in the book. In other words in was a normal occurrence back then.
- Some pointed out that this will alienate Indian students in school after this. Unproper name calling will start.
My thoughts:
- Was the name calling necessary in the book mentioned above necessary at the first place?
- Is the author some attention seeking person. Does he even get his facts right?Fellow Indian readers, enlighten me please.
- Will in help in promoting unity and harmony and uplifting the 1Malaysia concept. I am afraid it will not be like that if the teachers who taught this doesn't tell about the improperness of the derogatory terms used in the novel. I think name calling will start if is not handled well. So in conclusion, not really a good choice at all all.
Other notable websites and blogs, what they have to say.
- http://dinmerican.wordpress.com/2011/01/19/the-interlok-controversy/
- http://www.thenutgraph.com/the-hypocrisy-surrounding-interlok/
- http://malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/from-around-the-blogs/37751-the-intelok-quagmire
- http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/interlok-novel-not-racist-says-scholar/
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
coming on time
Tell me this
Is coming late to anything here in Malaysia, a Malaysia way of life or some other countries suffer the same culture? Please share with me.
Is coming late to anything here in Malaysia, a Malaysia way of life or some other countries suffer the same culture? Please share with me.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
fly like a G6?
Image by Getty Images via @daylifeThe song is old? but there is one particular verse that caught my attention
Image via Wikipedia"fly like a G6"
After much research, it is speculated that the G6 they are singing is referring to a private jet plane( Gulfstream 650).According to the Far East Movement, it's so fly that you need a different lifestyle for it?
So how much is a G6?
US$58.5 million
*checks own wallet*
US$58.5 million
*checks own wallet*
Related articles
- Far East Movement Explains 'Like A G6′ (harlemworldblog.wordpress.com)
- Like a G20: K-Pop and Far East Movements (backtotheworld.net)
- Behind the scenes with Far East Movement for "2gether" MV (allkpop.com)
- Gulfstream 650(wikipedia)
- Like a G6(wikipedia)
repetition and practices
Image via WikipediaA lot of people tell me, why is it so hard to play tennis. It is so hard to coordinate yourself into hitting the basics like the forehand and backhand.
And I tell them this," If you do want to play tennis is does not come easy. When I started out, I was clueless like you too when I just started. It's all about repetition and lots of practice".
It took me almost 3 years to be good and proficient tennis player.
"Patience and enjoying the game is important too", I added.
.
And I tell them this," If you do want to play tennis is does not come easy. When I started out, I was clueless like you too when I just started. It's all about repetition and lots of practice".
It took me almost 3 years to be good and proficient tennis player.
"Patience and enjoying the game is important too", I added.
.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
the long disputed controversy: The Manbag
the manbag
it said to be the essential wardrobe for men who carries a of stuff with them.
but the poportions of the bag design baffles me sometimes
I mean why on earth does it has to be so ginormous. The fact is, men don't carry that much stuff.
No thank you
He carries rocks?
And it can reach the other end of the spectrum of designing, which is a purse. Hell no I am carrying that tiny little thing..lol
and no ,I am not carrying that around.
So what constitutes a good size manbag.
Does an enormous manbag means his carrying a woman's bag instead of a manbag?
Give me some feedback.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
tag: the internet high five
Inspired by the Jason Mraz blog.
the internet high five:
1)Firstly give a high five
2)Save this picture and upload this to your blog
3)Tag 5 of your blogging friends
4)Ask them to repeat the steps mentioned.
Five friends I have tagged
1)Firstly give a high five
2)Save this picture and upload this to your blog
3)Tag 5 of your blogging friends
4)Ask them to repeat the steps mentioned.
Five friends I have tagged
Monday, January 17, 2011
the pocket-less shorts
looks cool
from the front
Dunlop logo
Okay from the back
Not good at all from the sides
Why I bought this pocket-less shorts in the first place and please don't tell me about the back pockets. They are not pockets and it is useless to put wallets and all there. Pocket-less shorts should be a crime to fashion/clothing. Enough said
Saturday, January 15, 2011
THE dream
I remember this dream like it was yesterday, and if you were to ask me what dream do I remember the most, it's this particular one.
Ogy Ahmad Daud(wikipedia)
This was when I was highschool student and it was during an afternoon nap. It was a news room setting and she was the weather girl. She was litterally going about forecasting the weather for the day after and I clearly remember her telling me or everyone that is going to rain the next day.
The problem is, it never rain. It was the weirdest dream I ever had though.
random facts: the Umai
Popular among the Melanau tribe in Sarawak. This dish is deceptively simple and it involves minimal fuss in its preparation. It is usually done by fishermen that is out at sea, and is done because there is no cooking utensils or to avoid any fire from happening with cooking on board the boat. So what they have created here is a dish that is easy to ensemble yet delicious to eat.
One must be warn though, this dish is eaten raw.
Usually the fish must be seriously fresh in order to make this dish.The fish are usually filleted, shredded chillies are added in and so is the shallots and also lime juice.A good plate of umai is then left in the fridge so that the mixtures of ingredients will coexist with each other. It is eaten cold, there is no other way. The recipes varies from one another because it is usually handed out from generation to generation. So there is no right or wrong when preparing this dish and this is the reason why umai is uniquely a Sarawakian dish.
Nowadays, the umai dish has become a staples in posh hotel restaurants and eateries. I feel that something has to be done to introduce this dish to the world so that it is well known. If the Japanese can do it with their sushis and sashimis, why not us?
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
word of the day
guess·ti·mate
n. Informal
An estimate based on conjecture.
vb:
to form a guesstimate of
Example:
my speedometer, tachometer, signal lights, odometer all kaputed once. it was awesome. was guesstimating my speed throughout the whole journey :D
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
weekly world news meets zuckerberg
A friend on my was asking me this today:
friend: Eh?? Nak tanya ni, facebook nak tutup ke March ni
(I want to ask, is facebook closing this march)
and I checked the facebook feed for statuses and I saw the issue at hand....
and being cool as a cucumber I went to the site and saw
something really familiar as the header, a familiar face that literally stumped the readers back then.
Batboy(wikipedia)
which in turn is a sensationalize piece of tabloid story, a hoax, a piece of lie, no joke
and so is the facebook story people. It is just a hoax.
- Weekly World News(wikipedia)
Related articles
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
local word 101
word: tight
local Malaysian context: Feeling stress or restless or overwhelm with emotions on a particular incident or matter
E.G: Person A: Why so tight? It just a joke lah!
Person B: Hrmmmm....it's offensive
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Saturday, January 1, 2011
the world most traveled man
 |
| Charles Veley, seen here in Nepal, has traveled to 823 of the world’s 872 countries, territories, enclaves, islands, provinces and autonomous regions. |
The review: Oral-B cross action toothbrush
to start of the random festivity going into....wait the minute, It's 2011 already. To my readers out there Happy New Year 2011. As I was saying, to kick off things, the first random post of 2011. A toothbrush review
I got this awesome toothbrush recommended by my mum. She said it was good for the gums and teeth. So decided to finally give it a try after making my old toothbrush into a complete mess.
Bye bye old toothbrush
Let's look at the toothbrush itself
The bristles looks awesomely ugly
Giving a grip test
Overall it was a sturdy toothbrush, what I really love about it was the grip. Nice to hold and it gives you and assurance that your toothbrush won't slip from all the long hours of brushing..nah just kidding. Brushing for hours can cause gum decay. so please do overdo the brushing bit okay peeps. So like I said before a good toothbrush. I love the minty after taste that was on some part of the bristle.
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