Aarvidi’s Weblog

An informative piece on the ongoing controversy Bengali, Bengali or Sikh, by a writer Tok Aji. To all my friends the Sikhs, does it really matter. I am a Kling, Kling Koy and that doesn’t bother me. When young all Sikhs were ‘Vangallis’ in Tamil, never Punjabi, or even Sikhs for that matter. Calling you a different name does not change anything. A rose by another name is still a rose - no change in colour, texture or smell. Smile and enjoy.   

Re: Benggali or Punjabi?

Dear Friends,
this Benggali or Punjabi question that has risen again because of Perak
MB, Nizar, giving in to habit is best regarded with amusement or we
would be saddled with injured sentiments over and over again. Malays
have from time immemorial referred to all early foreigners from the
West as Benggali and the Portuguese were “Benggali Putih” (White
Benggali) and so were the Spanish and the English and the Dutch in the
early years of the coming of the Occident.
Chances are, the Benggali, meaning the Kamboj and Pallas of Bengal had
been here first and/or had made the biggest impact upon the Malays and
from thence the others became “Benggali Putih” and the Sikhs from
Punjab were “Benggali Sikh” to all Malays in the Peninsular.
The name stayed all through the centuries. Possibly because the Sikhs
were the most prominent, and regarded as the bravest among the Sepoys
of later years, as were the Kamboj and Pallas of Bengal in the early
history of the region, they were honored as “Benggali Sikh”. Rest
assured it is an honor and not a term of derision.
We would need to make the correction in one or another textbook in
schools and use the media to drum in the difference to make the
correction stick. To all Malays (and some other Malaysians), Punjabis
have all the time been “Benggali [Sikh]” and differentiated
from “Benggali Islam” at one or another time of history, possibly when
the British under Minto divided Bengal into two, with the larger part
being predominantly Muslims.
As Karpal tried to say, the Punjabis should simply ignore the matter
and then try to have the correction carefully planned through the
schools and the media.
I am myself an Arabo-Punjabi on my father’s side and at home we call
our elder brothers Bhai and our uncles Checha etc.. But all my life
the Malays cannot make the difference and think of me and my family
as “Mamak”. I don’t mind that, of course. In Malay culture Mamak is a
reference to the Bendahara or Prime Minister, and to maternal uncles
anyhow.
But I am, strictly speaking, paternally an Arabo-Punjabi, the last stop
before my ancestors arrived here being decidedly Punjab. However,
nobody has ever referred to me as “Benggali Islam”, which is, in a way,
rather of a letdown since that makes my sort insignificant in
Malaysia. The saving grace is my mother is 50 percent a Turk-Bugis and
50 percent Aceher. Consequently I am tall, dark and handsome. I don’t
mind at all being called a Mamak, a Malay, or ABC.
Learn to live with these “misnomers” and accept the fact that
corrections will take a little time and much effort. Simply keep up the
information and maybe we will make the breakthrough sooner than later.
Cheers,
Tok Aji

beritamalaysia : Message: Re: Benggali or Punjabi?

The other day I was speaking to a blogger friend and in the midst of the conversation, both of us wondered how Samy Vellu can fib and go on spinning his members and the public. Has he got no ounce of shame. to bluff for all that he is worth, and does he consider every one a idiot and a fool to listen to him and believe his utterances. Literally he has plastered his ears and eyes, living in his own fantasy, a queer man in the midst of others who know he is bluffing. The Tamil saying goes he is behaving like a cat which closed its eyes and declared that the world is dark. In actual fact he is the one scurrying around the darkness and refuses to see the light.

Some times, the bloggers, my friend said, should ignore him completely, let him rant and rave and let others treat him as an non-entity unfit for higher office, let Samy believe that he has the ears and eyes of his listeners. Perhaps he gets this sadistic pleasure that all are stupid and he is the only one with some substance, and therefore, I can still win them all the way; a fact accomplished by 32 years of dominance in MIC. I agreed with my friend that from now on, we should hold our tongues and refuse to comment on his zany statements. This is akin to drowning on your own filth. 

But Samy won’t let go. Bernama says Samy also takes part of the blame for the tsunami of March 8. This is the fust(sic) time hearing this from the horses mouth. It took him exactly 44 days after the elections to admit the truth. Possibly he believes in feng shui, vastu sastra, plain reading of the palm, reading of the almanac or the latest craze of predicting your future based on the English Alphabets. Whatever it might be, astrology or reading the future won’t help him, whether it is 44 days or 4444 days he has established himself as a liar of the elite kind, an aristocrat of fibs.

This is a just a sample of his doings:

http://aarvidi.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/words-is-all-that-i-have/

http://aarvidi.wordpress.com/2008/04/17/samy-racist-mindset-drowned-bn/ 

To write more will take volumes. I pity the MIC members, why are they keeping quiet, what makes them to kowtow and humble themselves and prostrate  at his feet. I don’t find anything great in him. A leader should command respect, and every word or action that emanates from him should make the members feel the leader has qualities which ordinary members don’t have. Why are they following a man who is just a born liar. Sheesh.  

All BN Leaders Should Take Blame For Poor Performance

KUALA LUMPUR, April 20 (Bernama) — MIC president Datuk Seri S.Samy Vellu said Sunday all Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders should take the blame for the coalitions poor performance in the last general election instead of the Prime Minister.
In reiterating the MICs undivided support for Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as Prime Minister, he said: “Every one of us have to take a slice of the blame.”
He criticised former Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo for calling on Abdullah to hasten the power transition to his deputy Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, saying “he (Khir) has to take a bigger slice” of the BNs poor show in the general election.
“This is because just two days before Deepavali, you (Khir) had ordered the demolition of the (Hindu) temple in Padang Jawa (in Shah Alam) that enraged the Hindu community throughout the country,” he said in a statement here Sunday.
Samy Vellu said on the day the temple was demolished, he had rushed to a hotel in Shah Alam to meet Abdullah and Khir who were attending a function.
“I begged him (Khir) not to demolish the temple but he refused citing a court order. I told him that if the temple was to be demolished, it would mean demolishing the Barisan Nasional,” he said.
However, according to Samy Vellu, Khir refused to listen even despite Abdullahs intervention and went against the Prime Ministers advice.
He asked Khir not to run away from the fact that the demolition of the temple despite his (Samy Vellu’s) appeal was the “single major cause of Indians voting for the opposition”.
“It is very unfair and unreasonable for Dr Khir to ask for the Prime Ministers resignation,” he said.
He said since the people voted in the Barisan Nasional to form the government under the leadership of Abdullah, their verdict must be respected.
“Let us stop blaming the Prime Minister for everything. We must all take the blame,” he added.

All BN Leaders Should Take Blame For Poor Performance :: Bernama.com

Something is rotten in the State of Denmark. This is a mile long blog on complaints against the M.Rajasegaran, of Radio Minnal FM. The link is provided here, and to be kind to my readers who may have no idea whatsoever of this radio station, I am not quoting the article which is pretty long. Going by it M.Rajesegaran must be the most hated villain among the DJ’s and the listeners who know nothing of the inner working at the station, may yet curse him if the allegations are true. I don’t hear this station daily, I am more with THR. My comments may not be truthful. Any reader who wants to comment, you are most welcome, I am sure you will may meet the fraternity of other like minded FM minnal listeners also commenting.   

Sometimes back there was some news about the DJ’s of Minnal, just after Hindraf, and I did make some comments. The link is here. Who are the Minnal DJ’s with THR now?

http://malaysianindian1.blogspot.com/2008/04/malaysian-minority-indian-minnal-fm.html

<b><i>THE MALAYSIAN</i></b>: <b><FONT COLOR=#808000><center>Many Local Grads Jobless Because They Lack Creativity</center></FONT></b>

As the The Malaysian writes in his blog, it is so very obvious these problems can’t be wished away, and neither is it justified to blame the society, nor the parents. We are only talking about the receiving end, a process so negative as if society has a different outlook, our graduates will shine and in that sense the standards of education will reach higher altitudes. It is just a dream. The blame rests with the Education Ministry, right from the time children enter Standard one. You mould the child at this stage and thereafter it is feeding time to improve their knowledge, thinking and adaptability. Does this happen.

Day in day out I receive complaints teachers are not at their post to teach, relief teachers as usual are monitors making sure the class is quiet. The relief can use the time profitably, but then, it is not their job, they are there to be another student among students. How much more will the class benefit, if the relief teacher just tells them a story or engage in conversation on any subject under the sun. The children want to learn.

When there is an impasse, on a subject matter, either because the teacher’s knowledge is lacking or there is lack of time, pass the matter on by reminding them ask your parents, check it out on the Internet, rather than saying let me check this out and will continue the next time. Not all parents have computers, Internet connections, and not all are computer savvy.

Teachers rush through the syllabus the dead line being more important, students toil with page after page of homework, which won’t be necessary if the syllabus is allotted the right time - outside activities hinder the teacher’s ability to spend more time with the students. Perhaps as a result of incompetent teaching, tuition teachers and private institutions are mushrooming everywhere. The whole education system, the quality of the teachers, their activities that is purely of a teaching nature - all these must be reviewed. General accusations don’t serve any purpose.       

One of the reasons why many local graduates are unemployed is because they lack creativity, said the Malaysian Association of Creativity and Innovation (Macri).
Its president Datuk Ghazi Sheikh Ramli said the creativity of Malaysians was stifled by the education system and the perceived need to follow societal norms.
“Our society generally puts too many barriers and constraints on children. Children need space to grow, and when this space is not given, it slowly kills their natural inborn creativity.
“When you see local university products (innovations), you are not surprised. Their (students) brains are not ready (for the workforce) and all the ideas are the same – as if they are all from the same mould,” he told The Star.
Ghazi said that in more open societies, students were not subjected to this mental block and they could freely challenge the opinions of their lecturers. (The Star)
***** What could be the possible reasons for this sorry situation? Who is responsible for their ‘unemployability’? Can we point fingers at the system of selection which favours ethnicity over merit? Should we blame the doubtful quality of those selected to enter our institutions of higher learning? Is the spoon feeding at the primary and secondary school level in any way responsible? Or perhaps the problem lies in the unimaginative syllabus at varsity which shuns creative thinking? Any theories or guesses?
Image - Source

Labels: Education, Malaysia Boleh, Never Ending Policy (NEP)

THE MALAYSIAN: Many Local Grads Jobless Because They Lack Creativity

TranungKite Online v7.0 - Brainstorming Muslimat PAS Kedah: Dimanakah jiwa besar mereka?

I don’t thing so. As explained in TranungKite, PAS is forever going to preach telling people what to do. The religious slant is so evident. Items 1 and 2 may be justified. But items 3 and 4 reminds me of a preacher at the helm of the religious group rant and rave about what good they must do. PAS is running the Kedah government, and not the Kedah religious school. The twain don’t mix.

Next is Perak, my home state, I am wary of what PAS may want to do here. Sigh. Religion is good but when overdone it is a pain in the ……….

“Merujuk kepada laporan HarakahDaily, selepas dua hari Dewan Muslimat PAS Negeri Kedah (DMPNK) membuat sesi brainstorming di Kem Kenari Nature Park, meraka hanya mampu mengeluarkan 4 idea kepada kerajaan Negeri Kedah:
1. menggesa melaksanakan segera cuti bersalin 90 hari
2. menyegerakan cuti iddah
3. mengeluarkan pekeliling untuk kakitangan wanita Islam supaya menutup aurat.
4. menaikkan billboard di tempat-tempat awam yakni pusat-pusat rekreasi atau kawasan yang sering berlaku maksiat
Jika inilah hasilnya, saya amat kecewa dengan hasil brainstorming tersebut. Saya mengalu-alukan cadangan 1&2. Tetapi cadangan 3&4 amat mengecewakan saya. Setelah dapat memerintah Kedah, nampaknya pemikiran Muslimat Pas Kedah masih ditakuk lama. Mereka masih lagi ingin menggunakan kaedah “paksa & perintah” untuk mendidik rakyat, apatah lagi baru tak sampai dua bulan memerintah.
Mereka mesti ingat bahawa rakyat memilih mereka kali ini bukan kerana ingin dipaksa buat itu dan ini. Tetapi ingin melihat masalah & tekanan hidup yang rakyat hadapi diselesaikan. Oleh itu, gunakanlah kuasa yang ada untuk ini. Utamakan perkara yang lebih penting.
Masalah 3&4 boleh di selesaikan dengan banyak lagi cara, berbanding cara conventional yang dicadangkan. Cara/Idea baru inilah yang patut mereka fikirkan semasa sesi brainstorming tersebut.

TranungKite Online v7.0 - Brainstorming Muslimat PAS Kedah: Dimanakah jiwa besar mereka?