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Today, 17 October 2009, is Deepavali, the festival of lights which is observed and celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and some Buddhists too. Deepavali (or Diwali) literally means a row of lamps in Sanskrit, and lamps play a major role in its celebration, signifying the victory of good over...
I happened to hear this Ryukyuan folk song by chance, after following a YouTube link shared by a Facebook friend (you know how one song leads to another, right). The melody immediately caught my ear, and on further googling, the lyrics immediately captured my heart. Here it is, Tinsagu no Hana (Balsam...
Today, 10 October 2009, is World March Kuala Lumpur – Street Party! From The World March for Peace and Nonviolence's website (www.theworldmarch.org):The World March for Peace and Nonviolence was launched during the Symposium of the World Center for Humanist Studies held at the Park of Study and Reflection...
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948photo from hereToday, 2 October 2009 is the 140th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi. In India it is celebrated as Gandhi Jayanti, and internationally it is celebrated as the International Day of Non-Violence. Besides commemorating the...
This is what I observed at the peaceful assembly in front of the Istana Negara on 26 September 2009, which was called by Hindraf and the Human Rights Party Malaysia to deliver a petition to the the DYMM Yang Di-Pertuan Agong. The petition, which you can download and read here, pleads to the YDP Agong for...
Dear Readers,Hope you all had happy and meaningful Hari Raya holidays, because now it's time to get back to the work we must all do: bringing change to our country, beginning with ourselves.Raja Petra wrote an excellent article, Me serve the rakyat? Nah!, published on Malaysia Today yesterday.
Today, 20 September 2009 AD (or 1 Syawal 1430 AH) is Hari Raya Aidil Fitri. Hari Raya means day of celebration in Bahasa Malaysia, and Aidil Fitri is from the Arabic Eid ul-Fitr; Eid means celebration or festival, and Fitr pertains to the breaking of fast. It is the Islamic festival that is...
Mary Allin Travers(9/11/1936 - 16/9/2009)Mary Travers, folk singer, activist, and member of Peter, Paul and Mary, the influential folk trio of the 60's, passed away on 16 September 2009. How influential were they? Speaking for myself, the first time I heard Blowin in the wind, it made me think hard about...
ANAK BANGSA MALAYSIA PREAMBLE:Recognising that our beloved Malaysia is:A sovereign and independent member of the global community of nations;A polity founded on the principles of a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy;A multi-ethnic, multi-faith and multi-cultural society formed on the...
Dear Readers,The folks at The Nut Graph have done it again! I reproduce here part of another powerful article from there, this time by Ding Jo-Ann. This article is sharp and incisive; it gets to the heart of the matter and drives a stake through it. It lays bare what our ruling party is all...
On the 46th anniversary of the formation of Malaysia, another endeavour of hope has been launched: the Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia initiative, the goal of which is to actualise the spirit and substance of One People, One Nation.It is an initiative by a group of Malaysians who believe that we can,...
Dear Readers, This is a joint statement made by more than fifty civil society organizations, where they spelt out a framework for a new national discourse which embodies diversity and dissent and the rejection of political violence as the true signs of nationhood.New Nationalism: Freedom with Empowering...
(Mat Sah Satray with his son Shuaib. Photograph taken from here)Mat Sah Mohamad Satray, Dr Abdullah Daud, Mohd Nasir Ismail @ Hassan, Ahmad Kamil Md Hanapiah and Muhammad Amir Md Hanapiah will be released from detention without trial under the Internal Security Act today. En. Mat Sah, who had been detained...
In response to my previous post MUST READ: Would a British politician stand on stage with a weapon in hand? - Article by Dr Farish A Noor, from the Nut Graph, an anonymous commenter replied as follows:No need to imagine, violent anti-islam demonstration did happen in...
Dear Readers,This is a short excerpt from a powerful article titled Power, politicians and brutality, by Dr Farish A Noor, which was published in The Nut Graph today (bold emphasis mine):Southeast Asians tend to adopt a dismissive view of the West. And there are far too many right-wing...
Dear Reader,I read about the Save Yvonne's Sight meme on Crankshaft.Blogger Yvonne Foong, 22, has neurofibromatosis type II, which has severely affected her sight and hearing due to tumours in the brain and spine. She is scheduled for an operation between 1 and 4 December 2009. The cost of surgery is...
For this fifth instalment of HTRPB, we'll be looking at a post by blogger Pasquale of Barking Magpie. In the past, he has posted entries titled When will the Malays learn!!! The Chinese will and can never share power once they ARE in power!, and CPM stands for Chinese Party of Malaya and...
Dear Readers,This is a most commendable effort by Peace4Msia. Here it is in full:Dear friends,A few friends met up some days ago and in talking about events that have happened in the country in the past year, came up with this idea: what if on Malaysia Day we all fast for peace for our nation? The idea grew...
(Updated Below)The testimony of Sivanesan Tanggavelu that he was hit with a metal rod, punched, kicked, slapped all over and even caned on his genitals and the soles of his feet until he passed out from the pain, while in the custody of the ACA, should be cause for serious concern for all Malaysians. After...
Those of us who have seen the video of Hindraf's candle light vigil on 5/9/09, and the subsequent arrests by our police, would have heard the vigillers singing a song in Tamil, as they tried unsuccessfully to get to Dataran Merdeka. For the benefit of those of us who would like to understand what they were...
