Malaysiaku, Negaraku

From my friend Charles, an observer of Malaysian politics and global geopolitics:   The key point is that the Swatch range of watches come in a choice of the six colours of the gay pride flag a.k.a. the rainbow flag, which overall is intended to provide corporate endorsement of the LGBTQ+ lifestyle. "This year, we are celebrating Pride with a vivid collection of watches inspired by the iconic Pride flag. Each watch appears in one of the bold colors that make up the flag and features a symmetrical seconds hand symbolizing equality. Two rainbow loops bring the colors together to celebrate the unity and diversity that make our society – and Swatch – so strong." https://www.swatch.com/en-my/pride.html Wikipedia describes the Rainbow Flag:- "The rainbow flag, also known as the gay pride flag or simply pride flag, is a symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) pride and LGBT social movements. The colors reflect the diversity of the LGBT community and the spectru

  By FocusM   His critics may once again feel jealous of him, but who cares, everyone wants to enjoy a song sung by the country’s very own  Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim . If his songs can turn the civil servants in the country to work harder rebuild the country, and if his songs can bring about healing for the nation, already torn apart by politics of the 3R – Race, Religion and Royalty - why not?  While we have cautioned people not to  idolize any leader, Anwar included , there is nothing wrong to enjoy along when the Prime Minister himself is singing along with the people.    For example, at the official launch of Fire & Rescue Services Department in  Tambun  on March 13, unexpectedly, Anwar went on stage to perform the  song “Azizah”  to give  the Bomba band   a n   uplifting .   At an other   Aidilfitri  do  hosted by the Ministry of Finance, Anwar belted  a song  for his wife, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail .   If he can mesmerize  foreign  investors  or tourists to Malay

  I have taken about half an hour to articulate my personal views on the Kalimah Allah, which has become a controversy that is only unique in Malaysia. I believe the Christian community at large would agree with me. Due to time constraints, it is written as a blogpost, so do not expect perfection in the way it is written: POINT 1 . The word 'Allah' is basically an Arabic word which is similar to the Hebrew and Aramaic words for 'Almighty' i.e Elah, Elahe / Elahi, Eloi, Elohim which have been translated as 'God, Almighty.' Hence you have the 'Al' (as in Almighty). All three languages belong to one group - the Semitic languages. In fact, I happened to talk about the word 'Rahmah' which has its roots in both Arabic as well as Hebrew, i.e. 'Rahamim' with EXACTLY the same sound. Read:  https://focusmalaysia.my/we-all-come-from-the-same-womb-of-eve/ More about it here (read later): https://focusmalaysia.my/use-of-allah-conundrum-a-tough-ba

       Besides the fact that Elohim is translated as Allah because  the translators saw it was consistent with the translations in countries as far as Arab and as near as Indonesia, there is one other reason why they use the word Allah.        The reason is seen in the use of the word TUHAN in all capital letters for the word “the LORD.”        The word in the original Hebrew is the Tetragrammaton יהוה (YHVH) which is often read as  אֲדֹנָי Adonai which means Lord or Master  (see below):        The English rendition to the word יהוה in the Old Testament is ‘the LORD.’        The translation job is a very meticulous job of comparing manuscripts of old and the later translations to see how a certain word has been translated by others. Bible translators cannot anyhow coin their own words and do a simple form of translation. It has to be done with precision.         The word Allah means the Almighty referring to God, hence the short form El-, Al-, and its various conjugations such as Elah,

 Malaysia is in a transition from the past cronyism and nepotism to what Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim hopes to turn it into another Asian Financial Tiger. This series of articles will provide you the background understanding to help you appreciate better the politics in Malaysia: The collapse, collapse, collapse mantra that PN is capitalising on Unity gov’t solid and strong despite chants of impending collapse Unity gov’t solid and strong despite chants of impending collapse Man of the hour: Is Anwar’s anti-graft drive just a fad or a necessity in Madani Malaysia? Never idolise any leader, Anwar included Remembering May 13 and what it was not Is there a psychological war being waged against the unity government ?  R&R is for “Rest and Recreation”, not “Race and Religion”, please! We all come from the same womb of Eve Exercise critical thinking when reading political news May 13, Memali incident are reminders that we should not be conned by politicians             

In Malaysia, nearly everything can be politicised.           When Mahdzir Ibrahim, linked to former Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad's party Gerakan Tanah Air claimed that the concept 'Rahmah' currently used by Malaysia's Anwar Ibrahim government originated from Dr Mahathir himself, another writer, Hafiz Hassan wrote to claim that Rahmah is a Quranic concept.           Mahdzir's argument is not even worth rebutting, but I have the tendency to agree with Hafiz, except to say that the concept is not entirely Quranic.           Allow me to enlighten all of us here since I am also a student of Hebrew, Greek and to some extent Jawi.           The Quran only came about in the later part of the seventh century. The Old Testament in its written Hebrew form was already there for a few thousand years.         The Hebrew word  ( רַחֲמִים )  in the Old Testament is therefore very close to the Arabic word “ra ha mim” ( رحم ). It is no coincidence that the pronunci

  Allow me to first congratulate Datuk Dr Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan  for his appointment as the new Health Director-General of Health (DG). Based on feedback I received from the ground, who used to criticise the former DG, Dr Radzi appears to be getting a better rating. He is a “kind and low profile person,” says one. “He is a team player,” says another. A number of others from the medical fraternity have also given some positive feedback which I cannot quote here. Like the American Indian chief who puts his ear to the ground, allow me to give him the heads-up so that he can become a good director-general well-respected by people within your fraternity. Firstly, and I think most people would give me the thumbs-up, is a golden rule: In the event that the country has to face another pandemic, delegate the job of releasing the daily statistics to the public relations officer instead of stealing the limelight yourself. Secondly, the DG’s job is to boost the morale of medical staf