Friday 28 November 2008

Oi Tajuddin, siapa keling? - Ref Malaysiakini -

Member of Parliament for Pasik Salak, Yang Bloody (pun intended) Tajuddin Abdul Rahman, is a bloody (pun intended, again) disgrace to Barisan Nasional. First there was the issue of him calling YB Kulasegaran a bloody b*stard. Then, amidst claims of him using sexual innuendos in parliament, now he is caught on the Handsard using the deragotary term 'keling' against YB Kulasegaran.

Enough is enough. Tajuddin has showed that he lacks even the basic decency expected of a human being, let alone a Yang Berhormat, representing several thousand people in the august Parliament. No, a retraction is NOT enough. Neither is an apology, not that one is forthcoming, anyway.

Tajuddin must be dealt with severly. Malaysian Indians have had just about enough of our elected representatives calling us snakes and kelings. I urge the Prime Minister to suspend Tajuddin for a period of not less than three months, without pay. He should be also asked to do 100 hours community service in Indian charity organizations.

MIC must make sure that nobody, not even our BN counterparts, get away scot free after insulting Indians in such a demeaning manner. I call on my Pemuda and Putera MIC brothers to show that we will not tolerate this nonsense. If we have to organize a protest, let's do it. I'm game. We'll show you, Tajuddin.

Malaysiakini's article regarding the incident is reposted below:

S Pathmawathy Nov 27, 08 3:09pm

Vocal government backbencher Tajuddin Abdul Rahman (Umno-Pasir Salak) was today accused of making sexual innuendos in the Dewan Rakyat.

According to Fong Po Kuan (DAP-Batu Gajah), who evoked the Standing Orders against Tajuddin, the BN MP had made the offensive remarks during yesterday's sitting.

Section 36(4) of the Standing Orders prohibits parliamentarians from using offensive language. Fong told the House today that Tajuddin had uttered the words when attempting to interject Mujahid Yusof Rawa's (PAS-Parit Buntar) debate on Teo Nie Cheng's (DAP-Serdang) motion for a RM10 pay cut for Education Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.

She quoted him as saying, "Dia (Mujahid) tak masuk lagi, dah lama tak masuk. Main tepi saja" and "Bila nak keluar lagi air dia?"

The following is exchange between Tajuddin, Deputy Speaker Ronald Kiandee and Mujahid as was published in the Hansard.

Tajuddin: Oh, tak masuk lagi?

Kiandee: Dia tak bagi Yang Berhormat, tak bagi.

Tajuddin: Dia tak masuk lagi? Dah lama tak masuk-masuk. Main tepi saja.

Mujahid: Yang Berhormat Pasir Salak sabarlah.

Tajuddin: Bila nak keluar lagi air dia?

Expressing disappointment with the conduct of parliamentarians, Deputy Speaker Wan Junaidi Jaafar said: "From the information I got from my officers, I am very disappointed by the abusive words of the members of parliament."

"But I have to refer this matter to Deputy Speaker Ronald Kiandee to take further action," he added.

Kiandee had presided over yesterday’s session.

Tajuddin's sexual innuendo remarks were missed in the uproar he had sparked off when he called M Kulasegaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat) “keling”, a derogatory term for Indians.

Following pressure from Pakatan MPs to withdraw his remark, Tajuddin had today reluctantly obliged and made the retraction.

Although Kulasegaran requested Kiandee to take stern action against Tajuddin, the deputy speaker, however, said a retraction was sufficient.

Earlier this month, Tajuddin had escaped punishment for calling Kulasegaran a 'bloody bastard' in the House.

Monday 24 November 2008

Samy Velu to meet PM over yoga fatwa

This is a follow up to my earlier post, What next? Fatwa against thosai? Today, Malaysiakini reports that MIC President Dato' Seri S. Samy Vellu is going to take the matter up with the Prime Minister. Frankly, I don't see the Prime Minister intervening in this matter, but bringing the issue up is good, all the same. Our voice must be heard, and our disapproval must be conveyed.

Malaysiakini has also run another story, Bouquets, brickbats for yoga fatwa, which samples public opinion. I am particularly glad that some Muslims are speaking out against the need for a fatwa on this matter, and in general, the need for Muslims to be so strictly regulated in Malaysia.

Sunday 23 November 2008

What next? Fatwa against thosai?

The National Fatwa Council has issued a fatwa that the ancient Hindu art of Yoga is off limits to Muslims. You can read Malaysiakini's article about it here. I must say that while this fatwa does not come as a surprise to me, I see it as something distasteful in multi-racial Malaysia. Of course, the fatwa is only binding on Muslims. I understand that. But whatever said and done, I am a Hindu. Yoga is part of my thousands-of-years-old tradition. So I am obviously irritated that a part of my tradition is being judged by someone else as being a threat to their religion.

Let's get a few things straight. First, Hinduism is one religion that you can't actually convert, per say, into. Hinduism is a way of life. It is a collection of rites and rituals, based on ancient wisdom and teachings. While you can always learn the religion, start going to temples and call yourself a Hindu convert, there are no rituals in particular to declare one 'a Hindu from this day forth', religiously speaking, that is.

Second, to the best of my knowledge, we Hindus never did any promotion campaign for yoga. We never marketed it to the world, neither do we actually profit from its worldwide popularity and interest these days. The non-Hindus are tho ones who learnt it, saw its health benefits (and market potential) and willingly accepted it as a form of exercise. No doubt, it is quite an industry nowadays, both abroad and right here in Malaysia. Of course it is linked with Hindu practices and worship. That's just the way Hinduism is. Religion and life is inseparable to a Hindu, much like how it is for a Muslim.  Our daily routine is intertwined with our religion. To what extent, is a matter of individual choice.

On a lighter note, I'd really like to see what else the fatwa boys will decide to ban after tomboys and yoga. Thosai perhaps? Most Hindu-owned restaurants have altars, you know! And they do a prayer before starting business for the day. Ban murukku perhaps? How about issuing a fatwa banning all Muslims from watching Bollywood movies? Datuk Shah Rukh Khan has played Hindu and Buddhist roles before, you know! After all, to quote the words of the National Fatwa council chairperson Dr Abdul Shukor Husin, "doing one thing could lead to another" and "it will ultimately lead to religious worshiping and chanting which is against Islam".

Wednesday 19 November 2008

Syariah Law? No, thank you!

Recently there have been calls for the common law system and the syariah law system to be merged. This suggestion came from none less than the former Chief Justice, Tun Abdul Hamid. Today we have newspapers quoting one Datuk Ibrahim Lembut, Syariah Court Judge and Syariah Judicial Department director-general, saying “Islam will defend everybody. The impression that merging the two court systems will override the rights of the non-Muslims is wrong. Syariah laws and Islam will think of every religion and race”.

Yeah, right! Tell that to the Hindu mother who lost custody of her child after the Syariah court granted custody to her muslim convert ex-husband, against all international norms for custody. Tell that to the families who had the bodies of their loved ones snatched from them, preventing them from conducting the final rites.

Subjecting non-muslims to syariah law is just wrong. It is against the very core of our rights, and we will oppose it at all cost. I do not wish to enter into a discussion on the practicality, the perceived equality and sense of justice of syariah law. I don't care. I just do not want to be subjected to it, and I ought not to.

The very fact that someone could even suggest something like this annoys me. This is setting a dangerous precedence. I lend support to the civil lawyers who attended talks, where this issue was brought up, who refused to even consider this idea. I lend support to MCA's legal bureau head, Datuk Leong Tang Chong, who shot down the idea. I urge MIC's legal bureau to quickly state their stand as well. We must be bold.

There shall be no compromise on issues such as this. We have compromised too much already. The MIC's preference for closed door solutions to problems is exactly what lead to the believe that we were not doing anything to solve Indian problems. Our perceived cowardice to stand up to UMNO's bulldozing attitude pertaining to matters of multiracial interest lent credibility to our critics. Enough is enough.

Tuesday 18 November 2008

Domain Problems

Update : www.apremnath.com is back online!

Dear readers,

I am having some problems with my www.apremnath.com domain. In the meantime, my blog will still be accessible via www.premnatha.blogspot.com so please bear with me while I get the domain issues sorted out.

Thank you.

Monday 10 November 2008

Protest against Sri Lankan government attrocities!


MIC Youth and a coalition of Indian NGOs are organizing a demonstration outside the Sri Lankan High Commission to protest against the Sri Lankan governments attrocities against innocent Tamil civilians in the nation.
I urge all Malaysians, especially Indians, to come out in full force. Let us lend our voices to our brothers and sisters in Sri Lanka who are suffering from these attrocities. Do pass the word around!

The demonstration is scheduled on Friday, 14th November at 2.00 pm.

The High Commission of Sri Lanka is located at:

No.12 Jalan Keranji Dua
Off Jalan Kedondong,
Jalan Ampang Hilir,
55000 Kuala Lumpur.


Wednesday 5 November 2008

Obama, President-elect of the USA

He did it! Barrack Obama's meteoric rise to the highest office of the free world should now give us all the audacity to hope. A landslide victory too! I guess this is testament to how Americans have matured beyond judging someone by the colour of their skin. I can only hope that Malaysians too will be able to rise to that level of maturity.

That's all for now, folks. Do bear with me until I'm back in Malaysia. :)