Funny World We Live In

(My personal tongue-in-cheek response to current issues)

World News

Malaysian Ministers Fight Over “God”
Malaysian Home Ministry: Non-Muslims not allowed to refer to God in publication

In an amusing twist to the “Don’t Use Allah” saga, Bernard Dompok, leader of the Upko political party in Sabah and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, said that Christian bibles in the Indonesian language refer to God as “Allah”, adding that the terminology is widely used in Indonesia and also in Arab countries by Christian.

Mr Dompok was rebutting the Home Ministry’s earlier declarations that the word “Allah” was “the preserve of followers of Islam in Malaysia” and should not be used by other religions to refer to God.

“There is no reason for the Home Ministry to continue harassing the Catholic Herald,” said Mr Dompok, referring to the Ministry’s threat to shut down the weekly Catholic publication with a circulation of 14,000.

Some of Mr Dompok’s Cabinet colleagues, however, disagrees. In a fiery response printed in Mingguan Malaysia, Mr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi retorted: “This is Malaysia. Do not equate us with another country. Don’t play with fire and challenge the Muslims. We are willing to do anything to protect our religion.”

Interestingly, Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has meanwhile been quietly meeting church leaders in Sabah to seek the support of the Christian community.

No prizes for guessing who is the cleverest among the trio.

Full story here.



Forum

More English, or Less?
I refer to your article “More protest against policy to teach in English” (TODAY, Feb 2, 2009) It was understood that The Movement for the Abolition of Teaching and Learning Science and Maths in English wants to revert to teaching Maths and Science subjects in Malaysia’s national language, Malay.

However, your article also stated that the President of the movement proposing this protest, Datuk Dr Hassan Ahmad, felt that “the teaching of English should be improved, so students could master the language.” The article quoted him saying, “We should improve the techniques of teaching English, expose children to good literature and get experts to devise a method that works.”

I’m confused by the stand the movement has taken. Does the movement intend to abolish the use of English, or was it pushing for promoting better English standards? Was the confusion caused by the Movement’s own non-proficiency in the English language?



Entertainment

Now Showing:
Opera Showdown!
Long anticipated finale raises curtains and eyebrows

After more than 17 months in the making, the Opera Showdown!, finally raised its curtains at Takashimaya Shopping Centre. Backed by a stellar cast, including Stephane Le Peletier playing the Gallery Director, across Toshin Aw Eng Hai as the Landlord, and debutants from rock band, Seven Guards of Cisco.

The story plot revolves around the true story of Le Peletier, who locked himself up in the gallery premises to protect over $20 million worth of art pieces and to prevent Toshin from forcibly taking over the premises after failing to negotiate with the landlord for a lease extension.

Classic case of the good standing up against the scourge of corporate evil? You decide.

Popcorns: 4/5
Comments: Free at Takashimaya SC, limited period only. Catch it while you can!
Full review here.