This extract come from a book by one of Malaya unsung heroes. I paste it to tell you how the Malays were at the turn of the century. In it the Author mention my Grandmother's name which I have to correct. As I mention she was the first Malay lady in Perak to study in an English School and the first to be a nurse in the state. Whether she was the first in Malaya is debatable due to the fact that Malaya was fragmented and somehow or rather until 1946 the Malays would identify themselves from the state they came not as Malay Malayan. The poverty of the Malays were striking during that time and even in the 70's the Malays were very poor but they were a happy lot. I was a product of the New Economic Policy which model itself with the affirmative action introduce by President Kennedy for the blacks in the United States. I will not defend the abuses of the NEP which are many but the policy is good. I was expose to malay poverty because thanks to my parents who keep on hobbing to one place and one place and my extended family, I seen Malay families who were poor and destitute. Yes, I seen Chinese and Indians too who were poor like in Pahang and in the plantation, that is why I cannot criticize NEP whose purpose was also eradicating poverty regardless of race colour or creed. It was a noble policy but everything that is noble will sometime be abuse. As I mention many times I yearn for the old Malays of yorn whereby they are more forgiving and charitable and not so money minded as now. If this mean progress for my people than I don't want any part of it!

1. My Family: At the Dawn of the Twentieth Century

INDEX

In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate and the Most Merciful, I begin this memoir in January 1976 at my home at No. 11, Jalan Menteri, Matang, Perak. I am now 66 years old.

I was born in Matang at dusk on 21 August 1910, when Muslims in the nearby mosque were busy celebrating the auspicious Israk Mikraj (ascension of Prophet Mohammed s.a.w. to heaven). The mosque was actually a British sop to placate the Matang Malays who had been infuriated by the hanging of five Malay and Orang Asli (aboriginal) patriots. These patriots, including Datuk Sagor, Datuk Sri Maharajalela, Si Putum and Datuk Panglima Endut, had been accused of complicity in the murder of Perak’s first British Resident, J.W.W. Birch, in Pasir Salak in September 1875.

My late grandfather, Haji Aminuddin bin Haji Abdul Kadir, was a penghulu (village or county headman) in Sungai Tinggi, Perak. According to our family tree, we are descended from Sultan Alam Shah of the Pagaruyung Sultanate in West Sumatra, but the family later moved to Batu Bara, North Sumatra. There, they became community leaders and excelled as traders with their own vessels. Most were thus titled Nakhoda or ‘trader captain’.

In the 1840s, my great grandfather Haji Abdul Kadir bin Kaul (better known as Nakhoda Sulong or Nakhoda Ulong) migrated to Malaya with his family. I don’t know their reasons, but thankfully, my ancestors did away with their high titles after settling down in Matang.

My late father Hussain was the older brother of Aishahtun, mother of the late Tun Yusof Ishak, the first President of Singapore, and his brother, Aziz Ishak, former Minister of Agriculture for Malaya. Both are therefore my cousins.

I am fourth in a family of ten children, three girls and seven boys, many of whom are politically motivated. My older brother Alli was the first Secretary of the Persatuan Melayu Perak (Perak Malay Association), while my brother Yahaya participated actively in the Pahang State Branch of Malaya’s first political party, Kesatuan Melayu Muda (KMM), or Young Malay Union. I myself was KMM’s first Vice President from 1938 until 1942.

My father, a land demarcator with the British Colonial Government, spent many years learning English on his own until he gained an impressive command of the language. I salute him for being one of the progressive Malays of his time, to have visualised the importance of English, not only as a medium for learning, but as a language of progress.

As his children, we benefited immeasurably from his early awareness. My mother Saadiah binti Mohd Itam, though traditional, was a special woman of her time. She handled all ten of us, mostly boys, exceptionally well every time our father went on his surveying expeditions, which could take weeks. Broad-minded and thrifty, she always urged us, her children, to be ‘of one heart’.

Although most parents of that time intervened in their sons’ lives, including choosing their brides, my mother gave us free rein. At a time when most kampung (village) folks, especially Islamic religious teachers, considered English the ‘language of hell’, my parents rejected this view. The kampung’s belief stemmed from the experience of a young man from Jebong, two miles from our home, who, instead of reciting Islamic holy verses on his deathbed, had rambled wildly in English. The villagers assumed he had been affected by Christian holy water when the poor soul was actually delirious with high fever. Following the incident, many Malay pupils were pulled out of English schools by alarmed parents. A teacher friend, Jamil bin Abdul Rahman, never quite forgot that he was a hapless victim of the ‘language of hell’ campaign.

Several years later, when fear of the campaign had subsided, another religious figure went around the village condemning parents who had children in English schools, cadet corps and athletic teams. “Only education to prepare oneself for the next life is important”, he preached. He brought fear to the hearts of many when he campaigned that a Muslim who touched or walked under the shadow of the statue of either the Virgin Mary or Jesus Christ would automatically become infidels.

Fortunately, the English school I attended, the King Edward VII School in Taiping, had no such statues. No Malay students attended the neighbouring St George’s Institution as it was run by white priests in black robes. The poor victims of his preaching were a handful of Malay girls who attended the Taiping Convent School, where a statue of the Virgin Mary holding a cross stood in its front yard. The girls were pulled out of school en masse. How they suffered! The one girl who remained, Don from Trong, became the first Malay nurse in the Larut and Matang District.

It was not that my father took Islam lightly, but he often asked, “Is Islam not in pursuit of progress?” He stuck to his beliefs, and we continued to attend English school. However, I must add that not all religious leaders were barriers to progress.

My father liked to experiment, as he cared about bringing knowledge and progress to the Malay community. One such experiment was his sending Malay newspapers from our home to the mosque, encouraging villagers to read them in between prayers, rather than just making small talk. For this action he was branded a ‘Satan’.

Despite his controversial ideas, my father was as devout a Muslim as any. He prayed the requisite five times a day, fasted throughout the month of Ramadan, donated to many religious and charitable causes, and had performed the haj three times, even though once was sufficient.

Perhaps Malay newspapers had some influence on his thinking. While we were still young, he forced us to read these periodicals so as to follow current events and widen our horizons. I am proud to have had such a father, in contrast to my friends’ parents.

I often heard the Convent School termed an arpang school when arpang meant nothing in Malay. Much later in life, I found out that arpang came from the English word ‘orphan’ as most convents housed orphans. Years later, when government and private sector jobs were mainly filled by non-Malays, religious teachers suddenly stopped their campaigns.

In fact, they openly encouraged their own children to go for higher education. When questioned what had happened to the old ‘language of hell’ sermons, they were quick to reply that past religious teachers were not precise in translating Islamic teachings. After all, Prophet Mohammed s.a.w. himself had urged Muslims, “Go in search of knowledge, even to China.” Where was this advice when I was growing up?

My diligent father earned a regular salary, but with the help of a rubber smallholding and my mother’s kampung-style economy, we lived very well. The kampung folk and the Chinese shopkeepers called us anak tok kerani or ‘master clerk’s son’, and gave us special treatment and attention. Despite these blessings, our wise father taught us to be enterprising and resourceful. For a small fee, we were asked to weed our rubber smallholding, to tap rubber and to look for weeds and grass for our chickens, ducks and goats. Sometimes, Father paid us by weight, so we looked for weeds and grass that grew near drains, for they were thicker and heavier when wet.

Before the arrival of cars in Matang, my father bought a buggy, pulled by an enormous horse and steered by an Indian syce. Soon after, another buggy was seen in Matang, belonging to Mr Alexander Keir, the Principal of the Matang Malay Teachers’ College. He was later appointed Inspector of Schools for the state of Perak.

When the price of rubber plummeted and more of his children were attending school, my father’s financial situation weakened, but I never once heard him complain. He went to and from work in mended and remended clothes. From smoking ‘Capstan’ or ‘White Tin’ cigarettes, he switched to the cheaper ‘Double Eagle’ or ‘Bird Cigarette’ brands.

When I sought his permission to join a private tuition class, he readily gave me $10 per month, saying softly, “Yes, do join the class. I will look for the money, don’t you worry.” The amount then could support a whole family for an entire month. I felt grateful because my friends who could not afford private tuition were often caned for not being ‘clever enough’.

One pupil bled when a teacher, shouting “Sa Pristi, young rascal”, caned him with all the strength he could muster. That was my earliest awareness of an effect of poverty on the Malays.

What did we gain from private tuition? This teacher collected us in his house and then instructed us to copy a picture hanging on the wall, of a drowning boy being saved by a winged Christian angel. Soon after he told us to go home. Two days later, he conducted a sketching test, asking all his pupils to draw the same picture. Naturally, those of us who had attended his private tuition fared well. The others, who could not afford ten dollars a month, were caned.

When the Japanese invaded Malaya in December 1941, as Vice President of KMM or the Young Malay Union (the first Malay political party in Malaya), I was ‘taken’ to move with them from Taiping to Singapore, where the British surrendered on 15 February 1942.

Yet, like most families, my family did not escape the war’s aftermath and hardships. To avoid undesirable incidents, my wife and three children hid in the jungle across the Larut River behind my father’s house. Carrying our three-month-old baby in her arms with two other children tugging on her sarong, she camped in the jungle for many weeks. There, our baby slept in a cradle made by tying an old sarong to a tree branch.

When the situation improved, they only hid from dawn to dusk. As the Japanese had taken me away with just the clothes on my back, I was not able to leave any ‘Japanese amulet’ (a special Japanese-stamped letter), which could guarantee safety to the bearer and his property.

One day, a team of Japanese soldiers came to commandeer my car from under my father’s house. My brother Osman tried to explain that I had been ‘taken’ to Singapore by Japanese officers, but they refused to listen, pointing a bayonet at Osman instead. My car was towed away on the pretext of being repaired. We never saw it again.

On another occasion, the Japanese came to commandeer my brother Alli’s car. Osman told them that Alli had taken the keys, but he was threatened again, this time with a sword. My ailing mother fainted from the stress. When she regained consciousness, she asked Osman to look for Alli to get the keys. When Alli returned with a ‘Japanese amulet’ he carried as Deputy State Forest Officer for Perak, the Japanese left his car alone.

Fear and worrying about my family always having to hide in the jungle aggravated my mother’s health. She died four months later in April 1942 at 57. Alli and Yahaya, two of my brothers, also lost their lives during the Japanese Occupation.

In 1937, Alli, a Senior Cambridge certificate holder, was the first Secretary to the Perak Malay Association while Wan Mohd Nor bin Wan Nasir was President. The British, who suspected that the association was hostile to them and also anti-feudal, decided to weaken it by transferring Alli to Rompin in Pahang, and Wan Mohd Nor to Tanjung Malim in Perak. Laidin, the Treasurer, was likewise moved to Kuala Lumpur. This was before the association was taken over by Datuk Panglima Bukit Gantang, Abdul Wahab bin Toh Muda Abdul Aziz.

Before the Japanese Invasion, Alli had been an Assistant Forest Officer in Perak, but during the Japanese Occupation, he was appointed Deputy State Forest Officer for Perak. In July 1944, he was abducted by the communist-led Malayan People’s Anti Japanese Army (MPAJA) in Tanjung Tualang, Perak, and was believed to have been killed later. His assistant, however, was released after a beating.

My younger brother, Yahaya, a Senior Cambridge certificate holder as well as an Agriculture School Diploma holder, was working as an Agricultural Assistant in Jerantut, Pahang before the Japanese invasion. He was, in fact, the prime mover for KMM’s state branch in that part of the country.

In early December 1941, days before the invasion, Yahaya, together with many others, was arrested by the British for being a KMM member. He was first taken from Jerantut to Pudu Prison in Kuala Lumpur before being transferred to Changi Prison in Singapore.

A couple of days before the British surrendered on 15 February 1942, Yahaya was released, together with other prisoners including other jailed KMM members. I stumbled upon him a few days later at the Bukit Chermin Siamese Temple in Singapore, but could hardly recognise him. He had not shaved in over two months and was plastered with mud from
Japanese shelling.

During the Occupation, Yahaya was appointed Chief of Derris Tuba Experimental Farm in Som, Jerantut, Pahang. Towards the end of the war, Yahaya was killed by MPAJA guerrillas. His pregnant wife, who had cried out “If you kill him, you might as well kill me”, was also killed. Kampung folks buried the couple in an unmarked grave in Damak, Pahang.

Translated by Insun Sony Mustapha
Edited by Jomo K. S.

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my comment

I am the grandson of Che Dun binti Ismail not Don and she came from Taiping and studied at the Treacher school. The only thing correct was she did became a nurse. She was married to Wahi Anuar who is more famous for marrying Shamshiah Fakeh of PKM and he was the Commandant of the 10 Malay Regiment of PKM before Abdullah C.D. and later Rashid Maidin. He was interred in Kamunting and later with the help of Aziz Ishak he work as the special Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture until 1971 and serve of what i know under three minister Tan Sri Khir the late Tan Sri Ghazali Jawi and the late Aziz Ishak.
My Step grand ma knows of your father but they are things that need to be corrected. Your grandfather is known as an aloof a man who keeps to himself who marries a half anglo woman very pretty but the truth is nobody knows of him neither do they knew of my Grandma or Grandfather. These are hidden heroes and history must record them as heroes. I would like to meet you and perhaps exchange anecdotes. The trouble with Perakians they love bloodline too much to show where they come from and thats a pity, My grandfather comes from Thailand his father was from the palace and like yours when he comes here he severe the title but unlike yours we still go back to Patanni and they still visit us and the suprising thing about it we never really severe the blood...... do write to me.......

I do not consider myself a chauvinist but although I do love my race but it is base on knowing the facts and the memories I have of them. I am a Rascist Malay but it doesn't mean I forgot the rights of the other races but my love for my race is base on creating a level playing field and I lament the fact that now the Malays have change. They were no more the Gentlemen of the East as describe by R. O. Winstedt. Here is an article with a comment by me which is very long. Please do take note everybody was born of different race thus to love one's race make you a rascist but denying others of their rights makes you a chauvinist and I am not that. Happy Reading!

24/05: Malays in the eyes of Lee Kuan Yew
Category: General
Posted by: Raja Petra
Kuda Ranggi
Singapore's mentor minister, Lee Kuan Yew, had once painted a clear picture of the Malays, both in the republic and in Malaysia. He also exposed the different perspective of the Malays, by his son and current prime minister Brig-Gen (R) Lee Hsien Loong. The senior Lee said this in a 2003 'tea session' with the Singapore Malay/Muslim community leaders. Kuan Yew's perspective is very relevant today in light of the much-publicised Iskandar Development Region (IDR) in Johor which seeks Singaporean active participation and investments."From my childhood I had Malay friends. I played with kampong boys, both Malays and Chinese. At the age of 6, I went to Telok Kurau English School. There were many Malay pupils who had crossed over from Telok Kurau Malay School which was in the adjacent compound, sharing the same football field. So I grew up completely at ease with Malays: quite a few of my Malay fellow students went on with me to Raffles Institution".According to Kuan Yew, his son Hsien Loong grew up in a period when political differences between the races were deliberately sharpened during Singapore's years in Malaysia, 1963-65."He is therefore very conscious of the dangers of antagonistic race relations and understands that the sensitivities of race and religion have to be tactfully managed."Kuan Yew also spoke of Malayan Malay elites he met for the first time when he went to Raffles College."They had come mostly on Federal government or state government scholarships. (The scholarships were awarded by the British colonial administration- Syed Imran). They were more race conscious and mixed more among themselves than with Chinese, Indian and other students. It did not strike me strongly until after we joined Malaysia that they are different: a deep seated feeling that the country, Malaya, Tanah Melayu, was for the Malays," Kuan Yew added.After the war, Kuan Yew went to England and became a lawyer. For his first case, he was assigned to defend four Malays who had been charged for the murder in the 1951 Bertha Hertogh (Natrah) riots of an Royal Air Force serviceman and his wife who were travelling in a bus along Geylang Serai. He got them acquitted.In 1955, Kuan Yew decided to stand as a candidate for the Tanjong Pagar constituency where the Malay-majority postmen's quarters were. There was also a large contigent of Malay workers at the then Singapore Harbour Board quarters. He was confident that the Malays would support him, and they did.However, Kuan Yew claimed that when trouble started with Malayan Malays agitating in Singapore after merger in 1963, "I discovered more differences between Malayan Malays and the Singapore Malays. The Singapore Malays accepted me as a fellow citizen, sharing the country with them, the Malayan Malays did not."He said when Singapore became independent in 1965, he made a firm commitment not to let the Malay community down. That commitment, according to Kuan Yew, was shared by all his colleagues of the republic's original team (Cabinet)."It has been our policy ever since. When we had to rebuild the city, we made sure that as the suraus were demolished, new mosques were built in the new towns, better and bigger. We made sure that our Malays are free to practice their customs and religion. We made sure that there was as much intermingling as possible with the other races in housing, schools, markets shopping centres and community centres. We have made progress."He admitted that there were difficulties when old Malay settlements had to be demolished and people re-housed. But after the initial years, Malays were reassured that life in the new housing estates was better than in the old settlements.Social attitudes and values of the people, including the Malays, have changed, both in Singapore and in Malaysia, but in different ways, said Kuan Yew."This is because the two countries have different education systems and different social structures that have made for different social relations between the races."With such differences, 'multiple differences' cannot be avoided if and when Singaporeans decided to invest and to settle down in IDR.
My Comment
what was said by manaboleh(a commentator) is true. No matter what LKY say he is, as far as I am concern, a chauvinist chinese. He hoodwink a lot of Malays leader and he even have the audacity to declare the Bahasa Kebangsaan Singapore is Malay. Before SBC the acronym use were RTS, a malay acronym, the motto in their National Creat is still malay tho' Majulah Singapura'. Yet the official Language is English and Mandarin and not Bahasa Kebangsaan(National Language), at least during his time he can still read Jawi, yes LKY at one time could read Jawi and speak Malay well but now Chinese are encourage to learn English and Mandarin. The marginalisation of the malays are real pls read the book written by the grandaughter of the President Yusof Ishak who wrote her thesis in Australia, pls get the book. The Malays in Singapore are even not allowed to hold weapon in the army and this was even explain by the Minister at their parliament.As far as I know there is no higher rank malay who is a General in the army maybe a colonel even than in the areas not regarded as sensetive ie that weaponary are not under his control. No Police of the rank of Assistant Commisioner and above are hold by Malays, they can rant meritocracy but here in Malaysia at least there is a Commisioner of Police who are Chinese although the chinese make up a small percentage of the security forces.Here is an article with comment made by Lee Kuan Yew, A question of loyalty:
the Malays in Singapore
NEARLY 13 years ago, then Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew triggered a debate about Malay loyalty with televised comments he made before a university audience (December 1986). Lee stated that the government had taken two opinion polls prior to and following the visit of Israeli President Chiam Herzog (November 1986) to the republic.
The poll found that the number of Malay respondents who were not against the visit fell sharply from one poll to the next, while the proportion of non-Malays who did not oppose the visit rose marginally.
Lee interpreted this to mean that "in certain circumstances, the Malay Singaporeans react with the emphasis on Malay/Muslim rather than Singaporean.
An article in the Far Eastern Economic Review Asia 1998 Yearbook (pg 222f) says, "To Lee this came down to a question of loyalty : "Are we sure that in a moment of crisis, when the heat is on, we are all together heart to heart? I hope so. But we ought to have a fallback position and quickly fill up all the missing hearts if some go missing."
The same article says, "In February 1987, Lee's son commented further on the status of the Malays in an open forum on why Malays do not hold sensitive positions in the armed forces. Explaining that there are no Malay fighter pilots, for example, because their religion might conflict with their duty to Singapore, he provoked a backlash of criticism from the Muslim community in addition to Singapore's Muslim neighbours."
The article goes on to say, "these statements represented some of the most frank public commentaries ever made by Singapore's political leaders on the role of the Malays, which continues to stir emotions among the Malay community."
As recently as September 18, Mr Lee, speaking at a Singapore 21 forum said, the reality is that while Singapore has made progress in integrating the different races, certain emotional bonds are instinctive and cannot be removed overnight. (Straits Times September 19, 1999)
Asked by a polytechnic student if Singapore could overcome this and become a nation, Mr Lee said: "Yes, I think so, over a long period of time and selectively. We must not make an error.
"If, for instance, you put in a Malay officer who's very religious and who has family ties in Malaysia in charge of a machine gun unit, that's a very tricky business.
"We've got to know his background. I'm saying these things because they are real, and if I didn't think that, and I think even if today the Prime Minister doesn't think carefully about this, we could have a tragedy."
"So, these are problems which, as poly students, you're colour-blind to, but when you face life in reality, it's a different proposition."
Reports in the Singapore media this year refuting Indonesian Presidents Habibie's remarks in February that Singapore was racist because Malays could not become military officers only stated that there are Malay officers in the armed forces.
The reports made no reference to the documented remarks (above) of the two Lees regarding Malay loyalty.
The reports also did not state:
1. if Malays hold sensitive positions in the armed forces;
2. if any Malay officers in the Singapore air force are fighter pilots; and
3. if the Lees have changed their expressed position regarding loyalty of the Malays.
While meritocracy is still maintained in the island and the Singapore armed forces appoints and promotes Malays, there is no evidence that Malay Singaporeans hold sensitive positions in the Singapore armed forces.

this is from wikipedia [edit] Status of Malays in Singapore
Malays in Singapore are generally of mixed descent, but are recognised as indigenous people of Singapore by the Singapore Constitution, Part XIII, General Provisions, Minorities and special position of Malays, section 152:
The Government shall exercise its functions in such manner as to recognise the special position of the Malays, who are the indigenous people of Singapore, and accordingly it shall be the responsibility of the Government to protect, safeguard, support, foster and promote their political, educational, religious, economic, social and cultural interests and the Malay language.
Even Ahmad Ibrahim a solicitor General of singapore and a renown Malay intelectual has to leave and migrate to Malaysia
By the way the only time the singapore Chinese speak Malay is when they sing the National Athem which is up to now in Malay another comment you can find
Marginalized across the Causeway
What it is to the Malays in Singapore.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I refer to Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong's recent statement regarding Singapore Malays.
It is reassuring to note the supposedly tremendous strides, backed by statistics, made by the Malays in the tiny Island state. The figures shown were from 1990, about the time Goh became Prime Minister. It seems Singapore Malays have much to thank him for.
In this case, however, facts and figures need to be analyzed, explained and put into broader perspective, to give them a human face, if you like. Without them, statistics tend to be equivocal. Further, other relevant matters were missing. Perhaps, in the circumstances, Goh did not have the time or conveniently refuse to elaborate.
For instance, it was stated that last year 23 percent of Singapore Malay workers held administrative, managerial, professional, technical and related jobs, while the figure for Malaysian Malays was 16 percent in 1998.
I am not sure if Goh was referring to the private sector in both countries. In the public sector, the percentage in Malaysia is definitely more than 16 percent, perhaps even more than 60 percent. I should know, I was a government officer for 20 years.
If I am right, perhaps Goh or anyone else could tell us the percentage of Singapore Malays at the higher level, in the public sector, including those in the armed forces, the police and diplomatic service. I wonder how many Malays there are in the Singapore High Commission in Kuala Lumpur.
Oh yes, he has conspicuously or purposely left out the statistics or percentage of Malays in the security forces and the police, (excluding airport and harbor board police). Not many perhaps. Maybe they are not qualified, in spite of, "one out of four Singapore Malay workers possessed upper secondary or higher qualifications last year".
I am not clear when he said, "The percentage entering university has increased by almost 1.5 times from 2.9 percent to 4.2 percent. The total number of Malay university graduates has increased by more than 3.5 times".
Does the percentage relate to total university intake or total Malay population of about 400,000? If the former, it is not a big deal. Out of 100 students taken into university, only about four are Malays. If the latter, namely 16 students, it is still not worth mentioning. It merely tallies with the total Singapore Malay population of about 15 percent.
Even if the facts and figures were given in proper perspective, just what is the definition of a "Malay" in Singapore?
I have met Singaporeans who are similar to but not quite Malay, with Christian names and who could not speak a word of Malay. Instead they spoke pidgin English, which made me think at first they were from the Philippines. Just what is this idea of the Malay hybrid culture in Singapore? This is worse than being marginalized.
We in Malaysia associate Malays with Islam and the Malay language, the lingua franca of the Malay Archipelago. I can accept a Malay who is Christian. There are many of them in Indonesia. They speak Bahasa Indonesia, which is Malay based. But a Malay Christian who cannot speak Malay but only pidgin English is quite another matter. They simply unnerve me.
By commission or omission, the Singapore authority appears to be encouraging the creation of this cross-Frankenstein race. Are we then to understand the statistics quoted by Goh to include this type of adherents, who are considered Malays for statistical purposes and perhaps quite accommodating to the powers that be?
I believe this is the unkindest cut of all. It destroys the essence of the Malay identity, balance and harmony. Most likely, this is the spectre that is haunting the Malays in Malaysia.
Imagine, in Singapore where the Utusan Melayu was founded, the Asas 50 inaugurated and the land of the Babas and Nyonyas, Malay is no longer spoken even by the Malays. What a mockery. And for heavens sake, please speak and write proper English, not some pidgin roadside sing-song.
During the British colonial era, religion or specifically Islam was left to the Islamic authority. Marriages between Muslims and subsequent registration were carried out by the then religious department.
In Islam, the akad, that is, the offer and acceptance, duly witnessed and conducted by a religious official is vital. Without it there is no marriage. The registration is secondary.
Currently, in Singapore, what matters is the civil registration which accords recognition to the marriage. The akad need not necessarily follow the registration. Hence, there are many Muslims who are not married in the eyes of Islam living together and having children. Marriages between Muslims and non-Muslims too are quite liberal. If that is not marginalization of the Malays, I don't know what is.
Indeed, some time ago the Malays in Singapore and, perhaps indirectly, the Malays in Malaysia were the butt of silly jokes on the Internet. By the time the Singapore authorities stopped them, the harm was done. It merely goes to reflect the deep, dark, in-built, psyche of Singaporeans against the Malays in general.
Thus, when Prime Minister Dato' Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad clobbered CLOB with a maestro's touch, a Singaporean questioned whether this was an IQ problem on the part of Malaysia. It was an IQ problem, the Singaporean IQ, obviously.
There is a lesson in all this for the Malays in Malaysia, if not those in Singapore. Weakness, either in numbers, economy, politics or plain disunity will be thoroughly and meticulously exploited by our enemies, and our friends. That is the order of life, the rule anywhere, at any given time in history.
The Malays are not an exception, with or without the National Development Policy. Affirmative action can only assist us along the way, not all the way. We have to play our part in the bargain, to resolve that we succeed in every endeavor undertaken. Justification is strictly by results, not merely to satisfy others, but foremost to satisfy ourselves.
Indeed in this respect we should be thankful to God for reminding us Malays once again what might or could have been if ever we become disunited and weak in spirit and resolution. God forbid.
Article contributed by: Hashim Ambia, Ampang
this is written by a enlighten Singaporean Malay
Myth: Malays Receive Free Education
One of the sore points many Singaporeans on the Internet have regarding our Malays is the notion that we are receiving "free education" from the state even through polytechnic and university.
Free education for indigenous people is a legacy brought about by the British to protect the original inhabitants of a country. It is still widely practised in other Commonwealth nations such as Australia and New Zealand where the aborigines are fully subsidised in tertiary institutions.
However the legacy for tertiary fees has been dismounted by the Government since 1991. While students coming from households earning less than $1500 a month will be put through a subsidy programme via Mendaki ( a Malay version of the Chinese CDAC and Indian SINDA), the majority of Malay students in polytechnics and universities today are there on tuition fees fully paid for by their parents. Be rest assured that your Malay countrymen are working and saving just as hard as you are to support their children's tertiary educations.
Myth: Malays Will Betray the Country for the Neighbours in War
I am not sure how this misconception came about but having served my NS stint in the Army with good buddies of all races, it is a myth that puzzles me as much as it bereaves me.
Some time in April this year, a member of the ewadah forum posted an informal poll meant to be answered by Muslim Singaporeans who served in the Army. The question was "If Singapore goes to war with Malaysia, will you shoot a fellow Malay-Muslim from the enemy side?"
Several people responded to the poll. ALL responded in the affirmative. To me, the results are hardly surprising. In Islam, fighting for one's country is one of the most exalted forms of Jihad.
History has also shown that Malays are loyal to their country and its people first. Race will only come in second. When Tunku Abdul Rahman invited Malays from Singapore over to Malaysia to enjoy the vast Bumiputra privileges during the separation, our Malays in Singapore largely remained loyal to the nation and refused to budge.
Loyalty of the Malay race to this country and its people should never come into question, ever.
Myth: Malays are a Druggie Race
Another popular misconception is that Malays are a druggie race and largely are a liability to the society.
Granted, this would have been accurate in the 80s. I make no apologies for the ignorance of these people during that era. They were an eyesore and a source of huge embarrassment for the Malay society.
But the community has made great improvements with the help of the country's leaders and evangelical activists within its own ranks. According to statistics from the CNB, Malays are no longer the No. 1 problem race when it comes to narcotics. It has been that way for the past few years.
Myth: Malays are Lazy
Historically and culturally, Malays have always had a good life. Unlike their counter parts from China and India who had to toil the soil and endure extreme climatic forces just to ensure their survival, Malays never had to endure these hardships much. Everything that you throw into the fertile soils of the Malay Peninsular, will sprout into a healthy plant within a few months. Unlike the Chinese in China, growing food was never much of a problem nor was it a matter of toiling. Leisure and quality time with the family became a very much entrenched way of life within the Malay community.
Unfortunately these civilizations came on a collision course when the Chinese started migrating into the Malay lands. When the Chinese came, they brought along their hard-working and industrious ways that has been so much a part of their life for thousands of years.
Naturally the Malays soon found themselves behind, unable to break out from the norms that their forefathers have lived over the centuries. To make things worse, the British continued to shower the indigenous Malays with various concessions, further lullabying them into an existence of complacency.
This is popularly regarded as the reason for the notion of "The Lazy Malay".
But let it be known that ever since Singapore separated from Malaysia, our Malays here have been growing up in a separate ecosystem than their Bumiputra counterparts. Having lived and breathed just like the other citizens of the land and void of special privileges, the younger generations of Malays here have developed their own variant of a Malay DNA.
Malays here have given rise to its fair share of President Scholars, PSC Scholars and other prestigious graduates. In fact, Malays in Singapore have held the record for being the most academically improved when compared to other races at various educational levels including the polytechnics and universities. Our youngsters are hungry for success and chasing the Singapore Dream, just like the other youths of Singapore.
On the economic front, we have also produced our fair share of millionaires. Salleh Marican , the owner of listed company Second Chance Holdings and Datuk Zain the owner of Prestige Marine Services are just two figures in the Malays society who have made headlines recently and done the country proud. Several other millionaires could be mentioned but it would take too much space in a short article such as this.
Laziness is an attribute that exists in every race and creed. It is unfair to label Malays as still being lazy just because you keep seeing the same group of Malays hanging out at the void deck. I am sure someone somewhere can point you the way to a group of youth from other races who are wasting time in a similar manner.
this is the name of the book you need to find Lily Zubaidah Rahim, The Singapore Dilemma. This is written by a chinese Singaporean read it please Is there racial discrimination in Singapore? A personal opinion
Reading the doctoral thesis of Lily Zubaidah Rahim, The Singapore Dilemma, has made me think about the issue of racial discrimination.. The conspicuous absence of this book from the shelves of Singapore bookstores is yet another sad example of the practice of self-censorship among people running bookstores in Singapore. Our NUS Central Library is even cuter, the book is available only in the Singapore-Malaysia Collection and the 'Closed Stacks'! Imagine, a book that was published in 1998 ending up in the Closed Stacks; what was that common NUS joke again about girls in their first year being like RBR books, girls in their second year being in the Main Shelves, and finally in the Closed Stacks when they are in their third year J? But again, we are talking about NUS, where its bookstore played a mini hide and seek with James Gomez's book on self-censorship, best described here.
There were many important points raised in this book, that perhaps made the distributors uneasy. For example, the public housing scheme that the PAP is so proud of, has the effect of splintering the Malay community into housing estates throughout Singapore. Ethnic residential quotas in HDB blocks were also introduced in 1989, in the pretext of preventing the emergence of ethnic enclaves that might harm racial harmony.
All these measures undertaken ensure that the Malays in Singapore, no matter how dissatisfied, can never gather enough electoral support to push for their agenda. This is the classic 'divide and conquer' strategy. With such a strategy, Malay interests would now be primarily articulated and represented within parameters determined by the PAP government and its Malay MPs (pp. 72-76). It also ensures that the government can afford to continue its minimalist approach to the Malay community without suffering any electoral backlash.
In choosing that title for her thesis, I suspected that Lily is trying to relate her study to the book by the Malaysian Prime Minister, Mahathir, The Malay Dilemma. I believe the important conclusion from the latter book is that the Malays are constrained by their culture, to be less inclined towards competition and more inclined towards a sedate lifestyle. Thus, Mahathir believes he has to practice favourable treatment towards them to protect the native Malays, which he call the 'bumiputras' from being driven out by the other races. Lily regarded this analysis as the 'cultural deficit' model, and she clearly feels that it needed to be reappraised for Singapore (p. 248).
The discussions on racism in Singapore ( A Singapore Chinese view)
Discussing the issue of racism in Singapore is particularly sensitive, with signals coming for the PAP that it is one of those 'out of bound' markers of Singapore discourse, a fact that Lily herself acknowledged (p. 8). If you ask a Chinese about the subject, he or she will probably reply that there is no racism in Singapore. It was particularly enlightening for me to hear from Dr Lee Tsao Yuan, sharing in Parliament during her time as an NMP, on the issue of the Singapore Heartbeat. Dr Lee said that she could have stayed in Canada permanently but she chooses to come back to Singapore since it is only in Singapore that she feels treated as an equal.
In all these rhetoric, it is ironic when I have yet to see any Malay proclaiming the same. I was thinking, "what does a Chinese knows about racial discrimination in Singapore?" When Fandi Ahmad announced that he may be emigrating to South Africa with his wife, because he is worried that his son may not be able to cope in Singapore, many Singaporeans, all Chinese I remember, were quick to criticize his decision for being an ingrate. A discussion in the newsgroup, soc.culture.singapore, in 1998, had an Indian sharing about how his Chinese wife and him has decided to emigrate to Australia because his wife, for the first time, realized the racial discrimination in Singapore.
It is insightful that, before they got married, he had warned the wife that there will be such discrimination but his wife did not believed it to be true. After she was the victim of it, facing snide remarks from her fellow Chinese ladies, about having 'contaminated herself', when she fetch her mixed son from school, she decided to leave Singapore. When other netters responded that Australia is also well known for discrimination, the Indian replied quite sternly that, although there are, it is nothing compared to Singapore.
Thus, I have learned to read Singaporeans' proclamations of Singapore, either being a country free of racism unlike other countries, or being a country where you have 'the freedom to walk tall with head held high regardless of the colour of my skin' with a pinch of salt. Whenever I hear or read of such proclamations, I would first check the person's identity. Up till this present moment, my results shows that every such person would be a Chinese Singaporean. It just shows how ignorant we Chinese are about racial discrimination in Singapore.
I would state my own observation that, while it may be true that there are racial discrimination in the US, at least they are aware of it and are still trying to decide the best way to resolve it. Here in Singapore, we are discouraged from even mentioning this issue under the constant threat of having racial riots breaking out the moment we attempt to.
Interestingly, the PAP government, in the period between 1959 to 1964, fought hard to be part of the Malaysian federation with the well-known slogan 'Malaysian Malaysia'. This slogan, I believe, is trying to defuse racial tensions by stating that only Malaysians matter; whether they are Chinese or Malays should not be an issue of contentment. After we were expelled from the Malaysian Federation despite all these efforts, there was never an equivalent promotion of a 'Singaporean Singapore' after that, which to me, is a significant difference that might shed light into the marginality of the Malays in Singapore. In contrast, Singapore has all these social institutions like the SAP schools, the setting up of self-help groups among races such as CDAC and the Medakai, and the focus on Confucianism that seems to reinforce the differences between the races.
My conclusion
Yes, I agree unequivocally that there is racism in Singapore. I first realized this explicitly in 1998 when I participated in my church walkathon. I remember the week before that event, my pastor announced to us that he has warned the MRT staff that there will be a huge crowd of people arriving at Marina Bay MRT station in the morning of the event. I was among the crowd of people who had to move at a snail's pace from the train exit to the booths in order to leave the station. As I was edging towards the ticket booths, I notice many MRT staff, a few with loud-hailers, giving directions on which way we should proceed.
It then suddenly hit me, what a contrast their attitude was towards us, compared to the Indian workers at Bugis MRT station on Sundays! The MRT staff were smiling at us, making conversations and so on and so forth. If you visit Bugis station on Sundays, you will see that many Indians spend their day off in the popular haunt, Serangoon Road. There would be some mobile railings segregating them from the rest of us, and the way the MRT staff shout at them or the expression in their faces, I was surprised to see that they were smiling at us now.
Actually, it is quite obvious why there is a different treatment towards us. The MRT staff identify with us, almost all of us being Chinese. Even among some of my university friends, I heard many racists complains about the smell coming out of the Indians. I guess that walkathon was to me what Damascus was to Paul, my scales were finally removed from my eyes. I begin to take note on other puzzles, such as the numerous Malay staff manning the counter in the NUS Central Library. Lily's thesis is thus an important contribution in my understanding to this subject, and I hope to also make a contribution in this area.
I hope this is enough so please my dear readers if you think LKY he is good to me, he is as bad as the UMNO leaders! whom you hate!

For the full text and comments by other readers you can go here http://malaysia-today.net/blog2006/index.php?itemid=4888

Interesting article written by Damain Thomson. you can go to his blog at http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/ukcorrespondents/holysmoke/april07/armstrong.htm# to find all the comments written

Posted by Damian Thompson on 29 Apr 2007 at 12:11 Tags: Islam, Religion, Christianity, Karen Armstrong
Karen Armstrong is a comically conceited feminist ex-nun who has assumed the duty of defending Islam from its critics. Yesterday’s Financial Times carried her review of an unflattering biography of Mohammed by the American Catholic scholar Robert Spencer.
Armstrong objects to the way Islam is portrayed
Armstrong went ballistic. She is herself the author of a sanitised life of “the Prophet” (as she calls him, despite not being a believer) that she grandly offered as “a gift to the Muslim people”.
She accused Spencer of “writing in hatred” and said he “deliberately manipulates the evidence”. By the end of the day, Spencer had hit back online. Very hard. We have the beginnings of a mighty feud here, and I know whose side I am on.
According to Armstrong, “When discussing Mohammed’s war with Mecca, Spencer never cites the Koran’s condemnation of all warfare as an ‘awesome evil’.” There’s a reason for that, replies Spencer: the Koran doesn’t quite say that.
Writing on his website Jihadwatch yesterday, Spencer challenged his readers to find the relevant verse. Someone did. It’s 2:217, and it refers specifically to warfare in the “sacred month”, and then only to say that the prohibition can be set aside. So who is manipulating evidence here?
Armstrong reckons that descriptions of Islam that focus on its warlike origins are like “a description of Christianity based on the bellicose Book of Revelation that failed to mention the Sermon on the Mount.”
That is an unbelievably fatuous and sloppy analogy. The violence of Revelation springs from the imagination: it’s a literary apocalypse. It doesn’t describe any real events. Mohammed was a general whose army beheaded its captives: that’s a fact. The Muslim scriptures urge warfare against unbelievers and apostates; the Christian scriptures preach non-violence.
I really think it’s time someone challenged Karen Armstrong’s credentials as an expert on Islam. How good is her classical Arabic, I wonder? If I was a Muslim, I’d be sick to death of this preachy autodidact constantly representing Islam as a touchy-feely encounter group.
But perhaps the Muslims like her. In which case, please persuade her to convert to Islam, as “a gift to the Christian people”. It would be good to see Karen back in the veil – only, this time, one that covers her mouth.
Posted by Damian Thompson on 29 Apr 2007 at 12:11
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my comment below

I am a Malay Muslim
I am a Malay Muslim who stumble to your site. I do not know Karen but I have manage to read her book. Her book is banned here in Malaysia my country because although persuasive, the authorities regard her with trepidation. Why? because her views although conciliatory to our faith Islam(not Mohammadan)her writings could inflame the liberal views that exist in the Ummah(people of the faith). All religion be it in the bible quran or the torah exists an element of violence. In the bible we can found the story of sex, in the torah the story of the superiority of the Jewish, the Goyim is regarded with distaste. But each book should not be read out of context, every book of God should be understood wholly not partially as the case of both Muslim and non Muslim. We tend to quote things verbatimly without taking into account the history behind each revealation thus we have crazy Muslim who would jihad without understanding jihad. In the Malay archipelago Islam came here not through sword, they came to trade and in peace. Though the history of Mataram in Jawa was full of warfare and war was conducted in the name of religion to islamisize the whole of Jawa but they fail to conquer Bali and up to this day Bali remain Hindu-animism island.But it is the same with the inquisition done by Spain or recently the massacre of Palestinian in the name of the greater Zionist. Religion is not inherently bad it is people who are, just like Communism, some call it religion, started by Karl Marx and Martin Engels in Das Kapitas whom are jews, the founder or the prophets were not man of war but the followers were. They would take anything out of context to justify their belief so please before you shoot down Karen Armstrong ask yourself is it prejudice that fail you to see the big picture?
wan zaharizan bin wan zan at 21 May 2007 09:34

My friend from US send me this article a while back so I presume he wants my idea which I hate to do. I hope it make sense for to me it is a puzzle how I can regurgitate all this info. My comment is below the article

Council on Foreign Relations on U.S. Dollar: "An Absurdity… Supported Only by Faith"
May 9th, 2007
The End of National Currency is the most astonishing thing that I have read since Zbigniew Brzezinski’s appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee earlier this year.
Foreign Affairs is the most important and influential journal of International Relations in the world. It is the mechanism by which the Council on Foreign Relations disseminates the game plan to people in polite circles. CFR’s positions on core issues represent the raw building blocks for most of the gibberish spewed by the corporate media and the maniac fascist policies of the "developed world." Publications like the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal are dumbed down versions of Foreign Affairs that are published daily. Television news is the same thing, but dumbed down again. Foreign Affairs is also where politicians from several countries look to determine what’s safe to say, which policies are doable and what needs to be done. A degree in International Relations is largely a certification of a student’s ability to internalize CFR jargon and concepts.
Got the picture?
Now, what did the most important and influential journal of International Relations in the world just say about the U.S. Dollar and the global economy?
In summary: The U.S. dollar is an "absurdity" and the only way to stave off a global disaster is for most countries to join one of three global currencies, based loosely on: the dollar, the euro and a pan Asian currency.
I encourage everyone to read The End of National Currency in its entirety, but I’ll quote some of the more remarkable parts below:
The dollar’s privileged status as today’s global money is not heaven-bestowed. The dollar is ultimately just another money supported only by faith that others will willingly accept it in the future in return for the same sort of valuable things it bought in the past. This puts a great burden on the institutions of the U.S. government to validate that faith. And those institutions, unfortunately, are failing to shoulder that burden. Reckless U.S. fiscal policy is undermining the dollar’s position even as the currency’s role as a global money is expanding.
Four decades ago, the renowned French economist Jacques Rueff, writing just a few years before the collapse of the Bretton Woods dollar-based gold-exchange standard, argued that the system "attains such a degree of absurdity that no human brain having the power to reason can defend it." The precariousness of the dollar’s position today is similar. The United States can run a chronic balance-of-payments deficit and never feel the effects. Dollars sent abroad immediately come home in the form of loans, as dollars are of no use abroad. "If I had an agreement with my tailor that whatever money I pay him he returns to me the very same day as a loan," Rueff explained by way of analogy, "I would have no objection at all to ordering more suits from him."
With the U.S. current account deficit running at an enormous 6.6 percent of GDP (about $2 billion a day must be imported to sustain it), the United States is in the fortunate position of the suit buyer with a Chinese tailor who instantaneously returns his payments in the form of loans — generally, in the U.S. case, as purchases of U.S. Treasury bonds. The current account deficit is partially fueled by the budget deficit (a dollar more of the latter yields about 20-50 cents more of the former), which will soar in the next decade in the absence of reforms to curtail federal "entitlement" spending on medical care and retirement benefits for a longer-living population. The United States — and, indeed, its Chinese tailor — must therefore be concerned with the sustainability of what Rueff called an "absurdity." In the absence of long-term fiscal prudence, the United States risks undermining the faith foreigners have placed in its management of the dollar — that is, their belief that the U.S. government can continue to sustain low inflation without having to resort to growth-crushing interest-rate hikes as a means of ensuring continued high capital inflows
…
At the turn of the twentieth century — the height of the gold standard — Simmel commented, "Although money with no intrinsic value would be the best means of exchange in an ideal social order, until that point is reached the most satisfactory form of money may be that which is bound to a material substance." Today, with money no longer bound to any material substance, it is worth asking whether the world even approximates the "ideal social order" that could sustain a fiat dollar as the foundation of the global financial system. There is no way effectively to insure against the unwinding of global imbalances should China, with over a trillion dollars of reserves, and other countries with dollar-rich central banks come to fear the unbearable lightness of their holdings.
Ordo ab chao.
The CFR created this mess to begin with. Its fingerprints are on every policy, politician and corporation involved with the funneling of wealth up to the top of the pyramid.
Now what?
What do we do now, as we find ourselves gazing into oblivion, into the chaos that They created?
Seek order with fewer national currencies, my son. Trust us. We’ve gotten you this far. We have almost reached the promised land of a global federal government, with a single currency, with no dissent, no war, no crime, no hunger and no disease and…
But before we can move to the single currency, we need to move to three:
A future pan-Asian currency, managed according to the same principle of targeting low and stable inflation, would represent the most promising way for China to fully liberalize its financial and capital markets without fear of damaging renminbi speculation (the Chinese economy is only the size of California’s and Florida’s combined). Most of the world’s smaller and poorer countries would clearly be best off unilaterally adopting the dollar or the euro, which would enable their safe and rapid integration into global financial markets. Latin American countries should dollarize; eastern European countries and Turkey, euroize. Broadly speaking, this prescription follows from relative trade flows, but there are exceptions; Argentina, for example, does more eurozone than U.S. trade, but Argentines think and save in dollars.
But wait, there’s one more thing:
Gold.
This following paragraph is so weird, I had to read it several times. I still don’t know what to make of it:
So what about gold? A revived gold standard is out of the question. In the nineteenth century, governments spent less than ten percent of national income in a given year. Today, they routinely spend half or more, and so they would never subordinate spending to the stringent requirements of sustaining a commodity-based monetary system. But private gold banks already exist, allowing account holders to make international payments in the form of shares in actual gold bars. Although clearly a niche business at present, gold banking has grown dramatically in recent years, in tandem with the dollar’s decline. A new gold-based international monetary system surely sounds far-fetched. But so, in 1900, did a monetary system without gold. Modern technology makes a revival of gold money, through private gold banks, possible even without government support.
Woh. Hold on a second.
On the one hand, "A revived gold standard is out of the question," but on the other hand, "private gold banks already exist, allowing account holders to make international payments in the form of shares in actual gold bars. Although clearly a niche business at present, gold banking has grown dramatically in recent years, in tandem with the dollar’s decline. A new gold-based international monetary system surely sounds far-fetched. But so, in 1900, did a monetary system without gold. Modern technology makes a revival of gold money, through private gold banks, possible even without government support."
So, we’re going to have a few "absurd" fiat currencies and private gold banks that will be used to make international payments in the form of shares of actual gold bars? Did the CFR just transmit a veiled and obscure tipoff to the wealthy people who read their rag?
Or is it something else…
I don’t know what to make of it. That paragraph is such a non sequitur in the article that it practically slaps you right out of your chair as you read the thing. Steil points out that rape and plunder (Globalization) can’t happen with currencies that are tied to things. So… Why mention private gold banks that can facilitate international payments?
It gets weirder. This article was published within days of the U.S. Government’s shut down of eGold, the oldest private electronic gold bank. On the same day that the indictments came out against eGold, Brinks, a U.S. firm that provides bullion vaulting services, dropped BullionVault as a client. BullionVault allows individuals to easily and efficiently move their fiat currencies into physical gold, but it does not allow payments to other parties. [I am a satisfied client of BullionVault, by the way.]
Are factions of the Elite in open conflict? Do some of them want access to these gold services, while others, mainly U.S. dollar interested parties inside the U.S., view those same services as a threat? Is Steil warning governments to shut down these services, lest individuals abandon their "absurd" fiat currencies?
I don’t know what’s going on here, but I’d really like to find out.
Research Credit: Jackanapes
Wan Zaharizan Bin wan Zan Says: Your comment is awaiting moderation. May 19th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
My friend provide me this link so I presume he wants me to comment, which I hate because my brain cells are not what it seems years back. Economy is the study of common sence that ’s what my lecturer Miss Peggy Ng told me. I conccur. Hwat’s made it difficult is we need perhaps a determination to arrest the problem facing the world namely US. At the height of the depression in the 1930’s Keynes came up with the theory of using fiscal policy to control the economy. That’s when the idea of pegging the money to gold were introduce. But in 1973 during the oil crisis they found out economies can be manipulated and those who can hold gold can control the world and oil was black gold.That’s where the monetorist came in. The idea is to control money supply later on the idea is to merge this with the fiscal policy as a means of controlling economy. They decided to unpeg the money and use the idea of velocity or how much the monies move to reflect the worth of a nation. This idea is also flawed in the 1997 the Asean meltdown occurs because of rogue traders who buys and sells monies. For Asean it was a bitter pill to swallow but for countries like US this scenario is unlikely but can happen. For years now US has a deficit budget as it tries to remain competetive it spends more on protectism and this negative budget has ballon to uncontrolable situation. Trouble with the western countries like US and england whose ideas is oudated remain competitiveness is an enigma. EU is a good idea if not because of politics it can even be better. People has time and again forgotten about labour, in any countries a labour which has mobility and willing to accept changes is an asset to countries. Thus tiny Singapore realises to remain competitive it needs to have an open migration policy although its policy is geared to attract the high end personnels nevertheless it realise to adapt and change with time. US need to do the same, the economy needs to be open up and one upmanship is ridiculous. It is no use to control oil if the price of extracting it is expensive. US need to reinvent herself economically and the leaders must have the will to exact change how painful it is. Surplus budget or balance should be strive by the administration because if US economy collapse by her own debt it is tsunami that will effect 4/5 of the world economy for the time being the Chinese Tailor will still made her master suit but for how long?

It is the time of day that you feel down, so down that you might think there is no life worth living but yet you go on hoping that maybe tomorrow will be a better place for you. Today is like that, unbearable but we need to plod on. Here is another article written by a white man who lament his fate in malaya with my comment below

21/05: Stupid beyond belief
Category: General
Posted by: Raja Petra
Yahya's Yap
I have been spending time in Malaysia lately, living near my wife's family. There are good and bad things about being here, the good mainly centering around the food (yum) and the cost of living (cheap), and the bad mainly about the inefficiencies of third-world infrastructure and mentality.As this blog makes clear, I am an Anglo-Celtic Muslim. I became a Muslim about 15 years ago - of my own volition, not because I wanted to get married to some Muslim chick. I met my wife several years after I became Muslim.It drives me nuts the attitude that some Malaysian Malays have to converts, in fact to Islam in general. They seem to think that there is something inherently Islamic about being a Malay, so that while those who convert in their eyes can never be 'real' Muslims, Malays who drink alcohol, gamble and in some cases even deny the existence of judgment and the hereafter are somehow considered truer Muslims.Part of the reason for this is the (obviously man-made) constitution of this country, which accords "Malays" special rights and privileges over others. Since no one wants to deny themselves these privileges, they will keep calling themselves Muslim no matter how unIslamic their beliefs or their behaviour are. Religion and ethnicity are conflated. The Malay status is tied to religious identification, as those who arrived in this country from India or Arab countries or whatever are regarded as "Malays" despite many not having a drop of archipelago blood in their veins - which makes the whole "we deserve privileges because we were here first" argument a bit ridiculous, frankly, but I digress. Independence shut the door on this forever though, as converting to Islam does not entitle one to alter their racial status, so a Chinese convert remains Chinese, unless he marries a Malay in which case the children will be Malays (not sure about this though). However, this is not widely understood, so that some Malays actually resent converts for crowding in on their space, and seem to think they have the right to doubt the sincerity of all converts, assuming that people convert for some kind of personal gain. So while a Malay can drink, gamble, take drugs etc even to the extent that these sins are widely known, people will never label them as kafir (infidel) or a munafiq (hypocrite). A convert on the other hand, must exhibit exemplary behaviour, dress as a Malay or better yet an Arab, punctuate their speech with lots of inshaAllahs etc and use an Arabic name or else be regarded as 'not a real Muslim'.I wish I could make these people understand, that converting to Islam is never easy, at least for those who do it sincerely - and they have no way of knowing whether the conversion was sincere or not. Even if someone did convert for marriage initially, he or she would have had to endure ostracization from their family to do so and possibly much more as well. If you observe a convert who pray five times a day, fasts Ramadan and pays Zakaat, he or she is much more of a Muslim that those who do not, regardless of the colour of the pussy they emerged into this world from (sorry about the crudeness, but I am sickened by this arrogant attitude of some racist Malays). Trust me, I have never gained any material advantage from being a Muslim, quite the contrary - I had to sacrifice many of my friends who couldn't tolerate my new lifestyle, and miss out on many business opportunities because of not being able to accept clients who were selling alcohol or gambling, not being able to treat clients to drinks, and the general stigma attached to being a Muslim in this day and age. Talk to anyone who has worked with me in Australia who knows I am a Muslim and they will probably say how much more successful I would be if I didn't have these handicaps. Why people would actually believe I would have done all this without being sincere is completely beyond my comprehension. I'm not saying this makes me better than any other Muslim, as I don't have to put up with some of the racial vilification that they might have to particularly those living in the West - I can hide my religion if necessary. I don't ask for special accolades for any of this, but I do expect to at least be treated equally to other Muslims, many of whom would not be prepared to sacrifice an iota of their culture or their financial gain if it contradicted their religion. Witness the Malays who drink with their mates, buy lottery tickets and skip prayer so they can attend football matches.On a related note, my wife was criticised by a female relative because our children, having been raised in Australia, do not speak Malay well enough and speak mostly English. The grounds for this criticism was apparently that my wife lacks iman (faith) because if the children are not taught Malay, they can not read the Qur'an or even recite the Shahada (testification of faith), because one's tongue would not be able to pronounce them correctly. WTF! Aside from the obvious answer that the Qur'an is in Arabic and Malay is arguably no more similar to Arabic than English is phonetically, I was amazed by the cheek of this woman. My wife is a hijabi who prays five times daily, has a degree with a minor in Islamic studies and can speak Arabic fluently. On the other hand, this woman can't speak Arabic, has no education, and the children raised by this woman who felt she could criticize my wife include three drug users, a convicted drug dealer, a daughter who says she doesn't believe in heaven and hell and a son who gambles so much he had to divorce his wife and abandon his newborn son. Even though this woman doesn't utter a word to advise these children about their behaviour, she feels she can criticise my wife for the simple but in her view overarching fault of teaching her kids English rather than the holy tongue of Bahasa Melayu.You might just conclude that this woman is a fool, but it is very hurtful in Malay culture for people to speak this way about others. I don't like airing this woman's dirty laundry, but to accuse me of not being a true Muslim because I have the wrong skin colour despite the fact that I pray, don't drink etc when she accepts this behavior from the children raised by her without a peep is very zalim (cruel and unjust). Her accusation against my wife suggests a black heart and a profound ignorance of Islam. I believe that all of us will be judged one day for our actions. I cannot say for certain whether Allah will accept my faith and forgive my sins, but I live in hope and faith that He will. In the meantime, I ask those who think that being Malay will help you in the hereafter to think again - we all will be judged according to the guidance we received. Omar, Abu Bakr, Khalid bin Walid - all of these were converts, and none of them spoke a word of Malay. Judge people, if you must, according to their actions, not according to the prejudices of your culture.

My comment as publish
Dear YahyaYou are wrong to say you can't do business who gamble and smoke or drinks, it is their business not yours, it is a sin to partake in this business but in global business buying of shares globally will result you buying into these companies share if they are listed.So how do you reconcile, you can't? The thing is you know it's wrong and a sin but that doesn't make you a kafir, it make you human which is nothing wrong in being one.Many malays have forgotten that, but sadly this is just malays here not in the archipelago. In Indonesia South Thailand it is not an issue but through years of being indoctrinate as a superior race this mindset has dull the malays mind. A paridigm shift must occur to arrest this problem and since it is rotting in its core it takes a trmendous effort and will of the Malay leaders and party to exact change which is elusive. Please go to my blog http://www.kehidupanbozo.bl... which relates the story of how malays have change sadly not for the better
21/05 11:55:43

This article written by Japanese, must keep because it is relevent if only the malays would understand

18/05: Liberating Islam
Category: General
Posted by: Raja Petra
GUEST COLUMNISTSBy Uzumaki Naruto
With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion. ~ Steven Weinberg ~
It has been very depressing lately. Malaysia has witnessed the hideous nature of a ‘force’ that has swept the country and left its people with a string of disheartening events of religious disputes -- corpse snatching, baby grabbing, breaking up family etc.In a true sense, this force was a manifestation of ‘power’ that had been carried out by the religious authority for the purpose of maintaining and safeguarding the sacredness of the religion and the power of the religious institution. Ironically, it seems that the religious authorities are oblivious to their socially-destructive deeds and far from realizing the damage they might have brought upon the fragile social fabric of multi cultural/religious society. Reason being, they failed to notice that such imperceptive act of gross injustice ensue social repercussions. It would draw the perception of backward religiosity to the believers of Islam in general. Thus would give rise to negative religious sentiments directing towards the religion itself and consequently create animosity among the people in the community. In reality, they (religious authority) have stained Islam with morbid image of vile ruthlessness that doesn’t befit the culturally and religiously heterogenic plural society of the modern days. They have fashioned Islam into an institution that is armed with repressive ideological stupor. They have utilised their power and exploited the religion into an oppressive tool victimising the defenseless poor and the innocents. As repulsive as it is, they have actually hijacked the religion by disseminating corrupt doctrines embedded with extreme ideology of religious intolerance. Evidently, they are themselves the ‘hijackers’.Islam is under siegeIt has been echoed in the Muslim world that Islam has been under siege; that there have always been foreign forces/powers that are constantly trying to weaken and destroy Islam. There are many Muslim thinkers championing the cause of Islam who follow this familiar theme. There are also some who would go to the degree of relating contemporary reality of the West as ‘morally decadent’ with ‘un-Godly’ secular values (that have crept into the Muslims’ societies) as the cause for all the ills and miseries plaguing the Muslim world. All these above are mostly the usual themes many Muslim thinkers would go by in their analysis. As a matter of fact, this is a clear sign of mental-siege syndrome; an indication that they are in the state of denial and refusal to be objective/rational in finding way out from the problems inflicting the Muslims. They have opted for the easy way out - the convenient blame it on others. Muslim thinkers (especially) have to step out of the box and disregard this obsolete paradigm of thoughts and initiate shifts by looking inwards and be critical on every doctrines/ideas that have been dumped into the package brand of ‘Islam’. They have to identify and disregard doctrines that are detrimental to human progress, doctrines that sow the seeds of fanaticism, and doctrines that are harmful to social foundation of multi cultural/religious society and inter-faith relation. This has to be done with the objective of finding solutions to overcome the drawbacks and limitations that are detrimental to the community’s full potential for progress collectively.However, the question remains; is Islam under siege? Focusing on Malaysia’s Islam, one can find that such has been happening here. Malaysia has witnessed the radicalisation of Islam through enforcement of strict religious codes that infringed the private domain of individuals. Islam is considered being under siege whereby the community which comprises of believers and non-believers are subjected to an oppressive religious law. There has been one too many cases of gross injustice that had been directly inflicted upon the born-Muslims and the non-Muslims indirectly. That said, the radicalization of the religion has held ‘Islam’ under siege, in which Islam is being hijacked by shallow, oppressive and extreme religious ideals that impede the collective potential of human progress. They have numbed down freedom of thought, insensitive towards private spiritual welfare and provoke the harmonious interfaith relation. This in turn would set a ground for social foundation that is susceptible to the virus of fanaticism. To sum it up, Islam is indeed under siege; surprisingly not by foreign forces but from the forces within. Islam has been under siege by the ‘hijackers’. There is a need for Muslims to liberate Islam from this stranglehold of the hijackers. They seem to be working religiously in dragging Islam to the slippery slope of worthlessness. If Islam were to maintain its claim of truth and relevancy in multi cultural/religious society of today and the future, a more progressive/liberal approach is needed to position Islam as a dynamic belief system. This is due to the fact that human socio-culture is never static; it constantly evolves and changes through time. Strict, outdated, rigid and shallow ideas must give way for a more functional and liberal understanding/interpretation that can absorb and respond to the latest challenge of the continuously changing human socio-culture. Adapting to a more pluralistic and inclusive premise of thought would be vital in raising the sensitivity towards enriching human effort in their spiritual quest.Muslims have the option to reject change and continue living in the past; or liberate Islam and bring it well into the future. The choice is in their hand.

naruto_of_mt@yahoo.com 2007

Last Saturday my Aunt pass away. She died of Bone Cancer. She is the daughter of my Grandmother youngest sister, Toh Puan Halimah whose husband is Orang Besar 16( One of those Perak Chiefs or Lords-only Perak has a house of lords in their state) pls go to here http://www.perak.gov.my/sultan/english/16.htm those who are interested in knowing the sanitized version pof perak history please go to http://www.perak.gov.my/sultan/english/content.html These are the official history. By the way tabal Jinn the instalation by the jinns of the Sultan is given as tabal pusaka. Toh Puan Halimah was never close to us. I regard myself as the hillbillies while they were the beverly hills, although they live in the same neighbourhood as ours we feel unrefine compare to her family. She was the sister who got herself in trouble, and the son Majid would die at the age of 2 of diptheria. She has 5 kids, Majid, Wan Na( I don't her real name) Aziz (who run a eco retreat famous with the foreigners suka suka retreat or resort just key in at yahoo or google to find out more http://www.sukasuka.biz/Photo/displayimage.php?album=topn&cat=0&pos=8 ) Halim a lecturer and the youngest Emma. Majid and now Wan Na is now gone. We were not close but I cant help being sad. She was after all family, and she has been suffering for more than 10 years. It was under remmision for sometime but 3 years back she met with an accident. She was a victim of a snatch thief which made her fall and suddenly the disease came back. She got amputated but still it spread. She left 4 kids Zahir Martin Amoi and Aci. The last two were girls and all are still schooling the youngest is 16. When they took her home on Wednesday she insist she wants to go back on Saturday and sure enough at 1 am Saturday Morning she past away. I do not know her well, I knew she was working as a set designer with the National TV network and knew that her mother wanted to pair her with my still single Uncle but oppose by my grandmother, which is no diservice to her because like her Mom she was beautiful. May Allah Bless Her Soul and May She find Peace which she deserve, Amen.

Malaysian Malays are getting more and more paranoid. If this keep up then what ever progress that has been achieve will be nulified. I understand the fears but do we need numbers of adherents who prostate but don't know anything but those who are enlighten are unable to choose what is right or wrong? Do we need to force people to pray and have faith when they don't have any? Do we need to create muslim hyprocrites to be satisfied? What hapeen to free choice as ordain in the Quran? If there is no compulsion in religion why the need to detain? Read the news below:


09/05: New religious dispute sparks fears of rising Islamization in Malaysia
Category: General
Posted by: Raja Petra
(AP) - A Hindu has accused Islamic authorities of illegally detaining his Muslim wife - the latest dispute raising concerns about rising Islamization in Malaysia, lawyers and opposition leaders said Wednesday.Ethnic Indian truck driver Magendran Sababathy, 25, filed a suit Tuesday asking a high court in central Selangor state to order the state's Islamic Department to produce his wife in court so she can be freed, said lawyer Karpal Singh.Singh said officials raided the couple's home on April 28 and took away Najeera Farvinli Mohamed Jalali, telling Magendran their year-old marriage under Hindu rites was illegal since she was a Muslim.Magendran said he was not told where she was taken and has not seen her since.Under Malaysia's Islamic or Shariah laws, anyone marrying a Muslim must convert to Islam. Anyone born into a Muslim family cannot legally convert to another faith."Najeera's detention is illegal because no detention order was served on her," Singh said. "We want to know where she has been taken. We are asking for her to be set free.""Islamic officials can't just go to somebody's house and split up the family," he said.Islamic Department officials could not be reached for comment.Magendran's case is the latest of several disputes this year that involve minority groups' religious rights and are straining ties in multiethnic Malaysia, where Islam is the dominant religion.Minorities include Buddhists, Christians and Hindus.Muslims _ nearly 60 percent of Malaysia's 26 million people _ are governed by Islamic laws in family and personal matters. Separate civil laws apply to others.Last month, Selangor Islamic officials forcibly separated a Hindu from his Muslim wife of 21 years, and their six children. He won custody of his children, but the couple could not live together legally and decided to separate.In January, Islamic officials detained a Muslim woman living as a Hindu and sent her for rehabilitation, separating her from her Hindu husband. Her baby daughter was also seized, and handed to her Muslim mother."This is a disturbing reflection of greater Islamization in the country, regardless of the price to national unity and interracial harmony," said Lim Kit Siang, who chairs the opposition Democratic Action Party."The secular basis of the Constitution is being eroded relentlessly."Rights lawyer Latheefa Koya called forcibly separating families "an affront to Islamic principles."Under Islam, there is no force, no compulsion," she said. "A person has the freedom to choose whatever he believes.""To think that we can put people in rehabilitation centers and force them to return to Islam is ridiculous," she said.Islamic officials often send Muslims who renege on their faith to rehabilitation camps.

Wake up, are we going to create another Auschwitz? Are we muslims the next Nazis? This was my comment which some how never was publish

to Mak Jun yen and UMNO pembohong. Yes if we go by law before the amendments you can marry a malay without registering.This happen a lot in the 60's and 70's. That time even chinese have many wives. Children are recognize by law.Remember Nyonya Tahir? So the law does reconize this marriage as common law wife. Takda masaalah. Tentang kerajaan melayu dulu pun ada toleransi kalau tidak macam mana ada baba dan nyonya dan kaum serani kampung portugis? Memang ada pemulauan tapi takda sampai nak masuk pusat pemulihan? Nak pulih apa bukan lagi dara? Depa ini semau bukan lagi dianggap melayu tetapi mengikut suami punya ugama? In the constitution it is stated so by defination of a Malay. I am againts this type of detention because it doesn't make sense.Didn't Yusof Qardhawi kata if depa nak Apostate apa salah nya asalkan jangan buat onah dekat Islam ini kita yang buat pula, dimana letak keadilan dalam Islam yang diAgung2kan? Tepuk dada tanya selera?

This lady is currently under detention for rehabilitation. To rehabilate what? She is 56 years old Kamariah Ali who graduated from Al Ahar University in Cairo. Can't we let her be? This news were taken from Malayisakini last year. There is now a total black out of news regarding her

A column in malaysikini by Elisia Yeo, Jan 5.
No one will give Kamariah Ali a job, relatives and one-time friends shun her, and much of her time is spent in the law courts, all because she no longer wants to be a Muslim.
"People look down on me because I renounced Islam. But people don’t understand. Actually, religion belongs to God and you can access God in any way, not necessarily through Islam," says the soft-spoken 54-year-old.
Seven years ago, Kamariah publicly renounced Islam after being continually prosecuted and jailed by religious authorities in Kelantan who accused her of deviating from the faith.
She had become a member of a religious sect famous for quirky structures on its compound, including a giant teapot. Its leader, Ayah Pin, caused shockwaves by proclaiming that he was God and that his followers were free to practise whatever religion they pleased.
"He is a good man and he helps people a lot," says Kamariah, a one-time Islamic religious teacher. "He can cure drug addicts, people with psychological problems, he is more a healer."
Kamariah’s unshakeable trust in Ayah Pin has sustained her and other followers through increasing isolation, with some family members and friends unable to accept her decision.
"Previously during festive seasons, for example Hari Raya (the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan), everybody would come, all family and friends would come over and I would go over to their house," says Kamariah. "But ever since I followed Ayah Pin, everybody avoids my house."
Kamariah’s life has now shrunk to the confines of a compound which houses remaining sect members in northeastern Terengganu state, where she spends her days helping one of her children, who is a seamstress.
She rarely ventures out into the wider community, and state police and religious authorities have restricted the numbers of people who can see her.
‘They don’t understand’
But there’s hardly a whiff of despair, or any sense that Kamariah considers herself a victim.
"I don’t feel anything," she says of how she has been treated by the local community. "I don’t feel sad, I feel pity for them because they don’t understand."
Kamariah’s renunciation was a rare challenge on an issue which remains completely taboo in Malaysia, where the constitution dictates that the ethnic Malays who dominate the multi-ethnic population are Muslim by definition.
Under Islam, renouncing the religion - the crime of apostasy - is one of the gravest offences possible. But Malaysia’s constitution also guarantees its citizens the right to freedom of religion, and Kamariah is now trying to convince the nation’s highest court to rule that this right extends to Muslims in what could be a landmark case.
"Even if I stay in my own home, they come and prosecute me. That’s why I have to go to court," she says.
Used to being scrutinised, Kamariah is more bemused than worried over the attention to her every move, including her decision to take off the Muslim headscarf or tudung - which recently earned her a reprimand from a court judge.
"I have worn the tudung since I was a child because I went to religious schools. But … Allah says I don’t want to look at your clothing, I look at your heart, so I want to try that. So that’s why I have taken it off. And lots of people are angry with me because of that."
Kamariah and others like her are in a bizarre legal bind, because no member of Malaysia’s judiciary wants to become involved in helping a person to commit the grave sin of renouncing Islam. Such are the explosive implications of allowing a person to do so that, so far, both civil and religious or sharia courts have refused to rule on the issue.
Civil courts have ruled that only syariah courts can declare a person to be a non-Muslim, while syariah courts that uphold Islamic law are reluctant to declare people as apostates.
A small woman standing under five feet, Kamariah’s gaze can be stern, and there’s a certain wariness about her. But she is quick to laugh when something amuses her, like the apparently circular logic of authorities who refuse to recognise her decision to quit the faith.
"If they say I am not following Islam, then why are they not allowing me to renounce?" she asks.
Lawyers say there are large numbers of people like Kamariah, including those who converted to Islam in order to marry a Muslim but want to leave the religion after the relationship has broken down. Living in legal limbo between civil and syariah court systems, they are unable to resolve issues such as land ownership, inheritance rights and child custody.
"You’ve got individuals who are trapped in an identity they don’t subscribe to and they want to get on with their lives but can’t," says Kamariah’s lawyer, Haris Ibrahim.
Years of frustration
Kamariah’s bid to argue her case before the Federal Court, a campaign she is fighting alongside fellow Ayah Pin follower Daud Mamat, comes after years of frustration over not being able to worship freely.
Since 1992, when she and other Ayah Pin members were convicted of deviating from Islam, Kamariah has been jailed for two years, ordered to attend repentance classes - she refused - and trailed in and out of syariah and federal courts.
Kamariah, who earned a degree in Islamic law in Egypt, also lost her right to teach during that time. She also endured the death of her husband, fellow sect member and teacher Mohamed Ya, who was also thrown in prison over the campaign.
While the legal wrangle plays out, many Muslims say the issue comes down to differing opinions over how Islam should be practiced - divisions which are reflected in Muslim communities all over the world.
Orthodox followers of Islam argue that apostasy is an extremely serious offence and point to certain hadiths - records of the sayings of Prophet Mohammad - which dictate the death penalty for renouncing the religion.
Serious religion
The deputy director of the government’s Institute of Islamic Understanding, Nik Mustapha Nik Hassan, argues that Islam demands adherence to its tenets.
"We are committed. We are convinced about Islam. Islam is a serious religion. It’s the only path to us, to Muslims. So we cannot allow people to come and interfere in our religion, in our religious affairs. So apostasy definitely is a serious offence, it amounts to a mandatory death sentence," he says.
"Islam is a serious religion. It may not be similar to other religions, it’s a way of life."
Conservative scholars also argue that apostasy provides an easy way for Muslims to avoid prosecution in syariah courts for crimes such as drinking alcohol or gambling.
"We have seen cases of renunciation and these were done to avoid punishment," says Professor Abdul Aziz Bari from Malaysia’s International Islamic University. "From this perspective, the ruling on apostasy is a kind of deterrent."
Liberal Muslims in Malaysia agree that apostasy is a serious sin, but say punishment should be meted out in the afterlife, not in earthly courts.
"We should leave them alone and try to win them over with love and persuasion. But to use the blunt instrument of criminal law leaves me with a sense of shame and embarrassment," says Shad Saleem Faruqi, a constitutional expert at the Mara University of Technology.
Islamisation process
Islamic scholars have disagreed for centuries over interpretations of Islam and its practices, as well as issues such as the correct punishment for apostasy. Discussions over the issue have become more impassioned because, like many other Muslim countries, Malaysia is undergoing an increasing "Islamisation" of its population, as well as a perception that Islam needs to be defended since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
This resurgence of Islam has been largely fuelled by an ongoing battle between Umno and PAS to prove their Islamic credentials.
The revival has seen Muslims more fastidious about practices such as fasting during Ramadan, and abstaining from alcohol, gambling and unmarried contact with the opposite sex.
Growing numbers of Muslim women are wearing headscarves, and it is rare to see a female Malay public servant without one.
In spite of the changes, observers say no one knows how much of the behaviour is due to increased piety and how much is due to a kind of political correctness - a social expectation that Muslims should conform.
This growing awareness of the religion makes any move to question its tenets or to abandon the faith all the more sensitive.
Personal battle
In Malaysia, people like Kamariah face another stumbling block in the constitution - drafted by British colonial rulers with advice from Malay politicians - which defines a Malay as a person who "professes the religion of Islam, habitually speaks the Malay language, conforms to Malay customs."
The definition is crucial because the constitution spells out the privileges, including scholarships and land rights, that the country’s ethnic Malays, who make up some 60 percent of the population, are entitled to.
Lawyers say if Kamariah’s case ever gets to the Federal Court, and it found in her favour, it could unravel the policies fundamental to Malaysia’s economic machinery and undo its delicate balance of race relations.
"I actually shiver at the implications," says constitutional expert Shad. "The issue of conversion out of Islam is not simply a religious issue but is an issue of abandoning the Malay community with all the political implications of the balance of powers between the Malays and non-Malays."
For Kamariah the battle is personal, though the significance of her case is not lost on her.
"If we go back through history, even those who brought Islam, pioneers of religion all go through difficulties first. So I have to be patient," she says.