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| Published: Jul.17.2006 @ 10:26 am
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Temple demolitions stoke Malaysian tensions
By Zari Bukhari
KUALA LUMPUR - Police in riot gear and shouting through megaphones recently arrived to move out devotees and pave the way for demolition of a Hindu temple on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, which local ethnic Indians say has stood in the area for more than three generations. A group of angry worshippers who refused to obey orders were doused with water cannons and beaten by baton-wielding security forces.
P Velu was among five Indians who resisted the government's evacuation order. He alleges he was assailed by a handcuffs-wielding police officer, showing three stitches on his
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forehead while recounting the violent incident. "The government has no respect for Indians," Velu said. "The pain of seeing our temples being brought down is much worse than the beating I took at the hands of the police."
Ethnic tensions are on the boil in multiracial Malaysia as a nationwide government campaign to demolish unregistered Hindu temples gathers steam. Kuala Lumpur-based rights groups estimate Hindu temples are being bulldozed at the rate of about one a week and that the destruction drive has recently accelerated in areas around the capital. Most of the temples are being destroyed on the orders of local councils to make way for new state development projects.
They often contend that the temples, many built before Malaysia won its independence in 1957, are illegal structures because they lack proper registration and are situated on government lands. Ethnic Indians are mostly descendants of Tamil immigrants brought to Malaysia a century ago by the colonial British to work on rubber plantations. They are now among Malaysia's poorest and politically under-represented peoples.
The government has failed to draw up clear policies regarding the status of the more than 6,000 Hindu temples scattered across this majority Muslim country. The demolitions have raised the hackles of some Hindu groups and rights organizations, which believe that the demolitions are ethnically biased and represent a violation of constitutional guarantees that protect freedom of religion.
"Police officers stood watching while thugs tore down temples," said P Uthayakumar, legal advisor to the Hindu Rights Action Force who was recently arrested and later released after trying to stop an arson attack on a Kuala Lumpur-based Hindu temple. Rights groups' efforts to hold talks with government representatives, according to him, have so far remained futile.
Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail has said he will act on recent complaints lodged about alleged police brutality surrounding some of the temple demolitions. The ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO) has ordered that further demolitions be stopped - yet the destruction continues, most recently in the state of Selangor. Perceived government inaction has driven at least one Hindu group to appeal to King Seed Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullai to intervene and stop the destruction.
"The government is breaking down [Hindu] temples because they can afford to do it to the Indians," said an opposition source who is tracking rights abuses associated with the demolition campaign. "We have never heard of a mosque being broken down for development."
Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, already embattled on various political fronts, has so far resisted calls to personally intervene in the unfolding crisis. While Abdullah has publicly promoted a secular brand of Islam, on this particular issue he has been restrained from acting by Islamic fundamentalist elements in his party, who have given tacit national backing to local councils that order the demolitions.
Ethnic tinderbox
As perceptions grow that minority Indians and their places of worship are being unfairly persecuted, some political analysts predict that the demolition campaign could snowball into violent confrontations pitching Hindus against Muslims. "Breaking the temples is dehumanizing the Indian community," said political economist Charles Santiago, head of the local think tank, Monitoring Sustainability of Globalization. "This could unleash a violent resistance that will have serious consequences."
It wouldn't be the first time ethnic tensions have boiled over in multiracial Malaysia, where ethnic Indians represent about 8% of the country's 23 million population. (Malays and Chinese make up respectively 60% and 26% of the population.)
The UMNO-led government has long mandated racial harmony through affirmative action programs that favor ethnic Muslim Malays and various other forced assimilation programs. However, earlier this year the first serious survey of race relations since Malaysian independence in 1957 found that racism still runs deep behind the government-promoted facade of ethnic unity among Malays, Chinese and Indians.
The race riots that broke out over a four-day period in 2001 in the squalid Kapar township on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur served as a stark reminder of just how delicate the social balance is - despite decades of government assimilation policies. At least five Indians were killed and 75 injured during that spasm of violence, which was Malaysia's closest brush to full-blown ethnic strife in more than 30 years.
Former Malaysian strongman Mahathir Mohamad was personally touched by the explosive 1969 race riots that saw ethnic Malays attack and kill hundreds of the country's commercially successful ethnic Chinese population. That orgy of ethnic violence finally required the government to declare a state of emergency to restore order.
On taking power in 1981, Mahathir implemented many affirmative action policies in favor of the ethnic Malay population in a bid to redistribute the national wealth and keep a lid on ethnic tensions. Mahathir also made use of various harsh laws to cow the media and curb dissent, including the draconian Internal Security Act, which allows for detentions without trial, and the University Colleges Act, which was used to curb students from voicing radical or racially charged views.
He also imposed sharp curbs on local media reporting on issues that could cause ethnic divisions. In the early 1990s, for instance, Mahathir blocked regional and international television reports inside Malaysia of ethnic clashes in nearby Medan, Indonesia, where ethnic Indonesians attacked and looted shops owned by ethnic Chinese businessmen.
Many had hoped that Abdullah, who rose to power on a reform ticket, would loosen those old restrictions and allow the country to more openly confront the ethnically charged issues that boil beneath the surface. Yet his muted response to a state-sponsored demolition campaign that appears to single out Hindu temples over Muslim mosques and Chinese Taoist shrines represents the latest strike against his reform record.
Abdullah recently reaffirmed the ethnically biased affirmative action policies that many argue have squeezed ethnic Indians to the margins of society. More than half of Malaysia's Indian population still lives in poverty, mostly on rubber and palm oil plantations, while Indian students have the highest dropout rates of any national ethnic group. Although a minority population, Indian communities have Malaysia's highest crime and suicide rates. And, increasingly, they are even running out of places to pray for a better existence.
Zari Bukhari is a Kuala Lumpur-based journalist.
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| Published: Jul.13.2006 @ 12:07 pm
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| 潜能发挥靠自己 唠叨父母易使孩子性格拖沓 |
| ◇字体：［大 中 小］ 发表评论 |
来源：北京科技报(06/07/12 03:00) |
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6~12岁年龄阶段，是孩子的心理发展的关键时期，也是最易出现行为问题的时期。父母反映（确切的说是母亲在反映）孩子最多的是：“我感到恼火的是孩子做什么事情都拖沓得很！”或“我最头疼的是我的孩子太任性了。”
其实，儿童所有的行为问题，不管是好的坏的都反映着我们父母的行为方式。
拖沓和任性是孩子反抗父母的软硬两种形式
“拖沓”是做事情拖拉、没效率，“任性”是不听别人意见、执拗。看起来这两者有明显区别，但这两种现象有着相关性，即任性与拖沓是反映同一种教育方式下的两个不同侧面。
拖沓是在父母控制下孩子较“软性”的对抗，而任性是在父母控制下孩子较“生硬”的对抗。看似只表现了其中之一问题的孩子身上，同时也隐含着另一种问题的性质。
就是说看起来很拖沓的孩子，其实是在用拖沓的手段，说明他的任性：不想按你说的那样做！很任性的孩子，总要以某种或多种方式来表达他的这种执拗个性：要么不等父母话说完，他扭头就走；要么就是你说你的，我拖拉我的；要么就发脾气；要么就是不吭声……因此说，孩子的拖沓就是他的任性，孩子的任性可以用拖沓来表现。总表现得拖沓或任性的孩子内心是无助的
孩子的问题往往隐藏着他们真实的担忧、愤怒、失望、伤心等。孩子的心理和情绪状态，主要是依靠行为语言来表达。
总表现得拖沓或任性的孩子，其内心是无助的，情绪是不愉快的：他这种行为背后的无意识语言在说“我斗不过你，我就要这样才舒服”。拖沓的信息里，隐藏有孩子对父母总是“催促”的不满与报复；任性的种种表现的信息里，隐藏有孩子不得不反抗的敌意，而敌意说明父母与孩子的交流中，父母很少甚至没有承认或接受过孩子的情感，而是对孩子过多的干涉。拖沓、任性孩子的父母，一定是用成人对效率的要求在“训练”孩子
拖沓与任性的孩子的父母，必有其以下行为模式：性格急躁、思维反应快、处事较果断、高价值观、高期望值、讲究效率、喜欢操控和教导人。他们养育孩子的方式，主要以说教、给现成的答案、命令，“你要……”，“你应该……”，“你不应该……”等。在这种行为模式下，孩子体验的是：总有人为我安排、操心、做事，而不必独立思考。因而难以养成对自己行为的负责任能力。
唠叨型的父母，以成人的行为标准要求孩子。有关日常生活上的事，小孩子不可能很快地、熟练地掌握技巧，对他们最好的帮助就是你的态度：耐心的等待，对任务的困难进行一点评价。如“收拾好床铺很不容易”、“一个小时做好这个模型很难”等。
如果孩子成功了，他们知道一件很难的事情被征服了，会有满足感；如果孩子失败了，父母知道这件事很难，他们会感到安慰，这样，孩子感觉到了理解和支持，这会加深父母和孩子之间的亲密感。
而持成人观念的父母，特别是唠叨型的母亲，在孩子做某件事情失败时，或孩子没按她的时间要求做某件事情时，一般从来没允许孩子说出他们的想法，而是以不停的唠叨和不满意的情绪态度，数落和要求孩子（此时的孩子，感觉到的是自己能力不够）。如果重复的是这种行为模式，孩子的“无能感”会导致退缩行为。
可以这样说，拖沓、任性孩子的父母，一定是用成人对效率的要求在“训练”孩子。但效率对孩子来说，是束缚、是敌人。就孩子的情感而言，效率的代价很高，它可能耗损孩子的才智、抑制兴趣，可能会造成情感的压抑和性格的极端任性。因为孩子需要试验、探索、努力的机会，也需要耐性（耐性意味着给他人时间），需要在没有催促和训斥的情况下学习。
所以，父母的行为模式决定孩子的行为表现。要改变孩子的拖沓与任性，父母要先正视自己的行为方式。
教育专题
强大的动力来自强烈的欲望
———让您的孩子发挥无限潜力
当今社会，对孩子的生理需求和安全需求一般家庭都是能够做得到的，而相对在孩子的社交需求、尊重需求和自我实现需求的教育方面，我们的教育却显得无能为力。
现代心理学家马斯洛把人的需求分为五个层次，即生理需求、安全需求、社交需求、尊重需求和自我实现需求。其中,成长性动机则是越得到满足越强烈。
很多时候，高层次的需求都是在家长的强迫下得到满足的。例如，有些孩子从小就开始每天辗转于心算、跆拳道、美术、音乐、英语等各种课外辅导班之间，如果在此过程中遭到挫折孩子就容易失去欲望，不再向更高层次的需求发展。 http://discovery.ynet.com/view.jsp?oid=10820963 |
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| Published: Jul.13.2006 @ 11:52 am
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The Star Online > Nation
Thursday July 13, 2006
By RAPHAEL WONG
newsdesk@thestar.com.my
PUTRAJAYA: Islam is not about turban and beard, said the Federal Court in dismissing an appeal by three pupils who were expelled from school nine years ago for refusing to take off their serban.
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– Justice Abdul Hamid Mohammad |
The panel of three judges led by Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Abdul Malek Ahmad was unanimous in their decision that not everything that Prophet Muhammad did – or the way he did it – is legally or religiously binding on Muslims, or even preferable and should be followed.
In the panel were also Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Justice Steve Shim and Federal Court judge Justice Abdul Hamid Mohammad.
In his written judgment, Justice Abdul Hamid said he accepted that Prophet Muhammad wore a turban but added that the Prophet also rode a camel, built his house and mosque with clay walls and roof of date palm leaves and brushed his teeth with the twig of a plant.
“Does that make riding a camel a more pious deed than travelling in an aeroplane?” he asked in the judgment read out by Federal Court deputy registrar Kamaruddin Kamsun
“Is it preferable to build houses and mosques using the same materials used by the Prophet and the same architecture adopted by him during his time?”
In 1997, SK Serting Felda headmistress Fatimah Sihi expelled Meor Atiqulrahman Ishak, then 13, and two other students – brothers Syed Abdullah Khaliq Aslamy Syed Ahmad Johari, then 11, and Syed Ahmad Syakur Dihya Syed Ahmad Johari, then 10 – for wearing the turban to school.
On Aug 6, 1999, the High Court revoked the expulsion order, ruling that the headmistress had no power to expel the students for wearing the headgear.
On Nov 22, 2004, the Court of Appeal set aside the High Court ruling.
Justice Abdul Hamid said: “The question is whether the wearing of turbans by boys of the age of the appellants is a practice of the religion of Islam.
“The pagan Arabs wore turbans and kept beards. It was quite natural for the Prophet, born into the community and growing up in it, to do the same.”
He added that other people living in desert or semi-desert areas, such as the Afghans and Persians, also wear turbans.
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TO COURT: (From left) Meor Atiqulrahman, Syed Abdullah Khaliq Aslamy and Syed Ahmad Syakur Dihya heading to the Federal Court in Putrajaya hear the decision on their case. |
“It is interesting to note that very few of our muftis and hardly any Syariah court judge wear the turban,” he said.
Justice Abdul Hamid said the court could not ignore the education system that had helped boys and girls to grow up as Malaysians, and educationists should be given respect and credit when they formulate regulations for the general good of students and society.
Describing the father of the two brothers as angkuh (arrogant), Justice Abdul Hamid said Syed Ahmad Johari Syed Mohamed wanted the three appellants to wear the turban to school because the serban was the “family’s emblem.”
He said he could not accept the submission of the students’ counsel Mohamed Hanipa Maidin that the school regulation violated the provisions of the Constitution.
Mohamed Hanipa had submitted that the appeal was related to the right to practise one’s religion and that includes every religious practice that has some basis or has become part of that religion, whether mandatory or otherwise.
“To accept the learned counsel’s argument would mean that anybody has a right to do anything, at any time and anywhere he considers to be a practice of his religion, no matter how trivial,” said Justice Abdul Hamid.
Outside the courtroom, Syed Ahmad Johari said he was upset because the school regulations emerged only after his sons started wearing the serban.
“However, I respect the decision of this court,” he said.
Syed Ahmad Johari, a public school teacher, who wears a serban and also dons a jubah (robe), said he would discuss with his lawyers the probability of taking the matter to the Syariah Court.
“Although it is a defeat for me, it is a victory for Islam because this issue has been brought to the highest court of the land. At least, the public would be aware of it,” said the 48-year-old father of six sons aged nine to 18, who all came to court together with turbans.
© 1995-2005 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd (Co No 10894-D) |
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| Published: Jul.08.2006 @ 1:59 pm
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China plans to extend Tibet rail link to India
Chinese envoy says route could run all the way to Kolkata on the east coast
Jul 08, 2006
The Straits Times
GANGTOK (INDIA) - CHINA plans to extend its railway linking Beijing to Tibet to a newly opened border point in India's north-east, and possibly link it to India's east coast, the Chinese envoy to New Delhi said yesterday.
Ambassador Sun Yuxi's comments came a day after the Asian giants reopened an ancient Himalayan trading route, once part of the Silk Road, adding impetus to booming bilateral trade 44 years after the link was snapped when they fought a brutal border war.
'Once trade starts, people will demand better transportation facilities,' Mr Sun told Reuters in an interview in Gangtok, capital of the tiny Indian state of Sikkim, which is joined to Tibet through the Nathula pass on the border.
Beijing had decided to first extend the railway to Lhasa, inaugurated last week, to the Tibetan city of Shigatse, then to Yadung, Mr Sun said. 'From Yadung, the Indian border area is only a few dozen kilometres away.'
On the Indian side, New Delhi planned to build a railway to Sikkim and once complete, the missing rail link between India and China would be less than 100km.
'Then, anytime we feel the need we will link it...If the train got through all the way to Kolkata (there will be) lots of potential,' Mr Sun said, referring to India's eastern port city.
Critics say it will spur an influx of migrants that threatens Tibetan culture. But Beijing and some analysts say the railway and the opening of the Nathula route tie in with China's goal of developing the Tibetan region.
Although connecting Kolkata to Lhasa may sound ambitious, more so as the railway would pass through rugged terrain, it could not be ruled out, said a senior Indian Foreign Ministry official. 'For the Chinese...they feel if they can take it to Lhasa, they can take it anywhere.'
Mr Sun said that over time, the locals and then tourists would be allowed to cross at Nathula, making the post at 4,310m the first crossing for citizens of the two nations.
The opening of Nathula also showed India and China could do business though their border dispute was not settled, he said.
Talks to resolve the row have made slow progress and much of the 3,500km frontier remains disputed. Both sides remain positive but a timeframe could not be set to reach a settlement.
'We are expecting a high-level visit before the end of the year and before that, another round of talks,' the ambassador added, referring to Chinse President Hu Jintao's planned visit to New Delhi. -- REUTERS |
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| Published: Jul.08.2006 @ 1:54 pm
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Bilingual education key to goal of unified South
Published on May 10, 2005
The mother tongue of more than one million Thai citizens in the southernmost provinces is not Thai but a local dialect. There is still no consensus on what to call that dialect, so I will tentatively refer to it as “Melayu thin Thai”.
The dialect is similar to Bhasa, itself a dialect of Malay, widely used in Malaysia and Indonesia, and could claim to be one of the best-preserved dialects of the language. As Thai authorities have had a policy all along of assimilating minorities, Melayu thin Thai has not been a part of our education system, let alone a medium of instruction in school.
As the overall threat to national integrity seems to subside and since the violence in the southernmost provinces is partially due to policies of assimilation, it is time to change the policy from assimilation to integration based on creating a unity of nations (Samaanachan). For such an initiative to succeed, we have to develop new educational programmes to enable our fellow citizens to achieve their educational goals without sacrificing their language and cultural heritage. Fortunately, the vice minister of education, Dr Rung Kaewdang, has already mentioned his intention to introduce bilingual education down South. However, we need to have a common understanding on the concepts involved and seek the full participation of local people in order to succeed. Indeed, the introduction of bilingual education requires careful planning and must be accepted at all levels from the bureaucracy through to its introduction at the local level. Bilingual education means using two languages of instruction. As generally understood by a Bangkokian, it invokes the concept of an international school in which English and Thai are used for instruction, however using non-Thai curricula. At the other end of the spectrum, instruction in some particular subjects using say, English as the medium of instruction, does not really adhere to the concept of bilingual education.
Here we are referring to an educational system using Thai and local dialects within the context of the national curriculum. The two languages could be introduced either at the start of primary schooling or at a later time. However, according to Unesco, the most effective approach is to use the local language for the first few years of schooling, and then introduce the national language first verbally and then through reading, and later use that language for instruction.
We all agree that all citizens need to have a strong command of the Thai language in order to effectively participate in and benefit from economic and social development. This does not mean that all children must learn Thai when they begin primary school as this approach is known to be less effective and may create an educational handicap for children who have difficulty understanding Thai, which is not their mother tongue.
The well-documented fact of the matter is that children learn basic skills in reading and writing most effectively in their mother tongue. They also learn other subjects such as mathematics and social sciences most effectively in their mother tongue, especially in their earlier years of education. Later, knowledge and skills learned in the mother tongue can be easily transferred into learning the national language as well as exploring other subjects using the national language.
In the case of the southernmost provinces, the question is how to teach children to read and write in Melayu thin Thai. For a smooth transfer into learning Thai, the use of Thai script seems to make sense. Learning standard Malay using Yavee (or Roman) script and Thai language will be introduced at a later stage when children are already motivated to learn things they can relate to their own social context and environment. The use of Thai script, despite its advantages in helping a child learn the national language, has the drawback that it could be seen as another attempt at assimilation.
Using the local dialect in education has several advantages. In addition to improved educational achievement among children and the participation of parents in their children’s education that this would encourage, the local dialect would also be preserved and revitalised for future generations. Many Thais see elderly people in the southernmost provinces as disloyal to Thailand because they are reluctant to speak the national tongue. In fact, one should blame the failure of our education system to educate those who speak Melayu thin Thai in the Thai language. If most Thai students are unable to learn English in most Thai schools, it is understandable that educators in poor schools down South would also have similar difficulty teaching Thai. If locals from Thai-speaking districts are in greater number in the civil service for example, it is because of their command of Thai.
Many problems in the southernmost provinces can be eased if the issue of bilingual education is addressed. But introducing bilingual education requires careful planning and preparation. I already mentioned the writing system. As the local language belongs to local people, they should be involved in developing curriculum and learning material. Moreover, teachers need to be trained or additional local people need to be recruited and given special training to enable them to become teachers.
There is a long way to go. But with proper consultation, local acceptance and political will, we will make headway together to solving entrenched problems related to the long neglect and misunderstanding of local culture. It will take time to stop daily violence, but together we can work towards that goal.
Gothom Arya
Special to The Nation
Gothom Arya is the director of the Mahidol University Research Centre for Peace Building.
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| Published: Jun.29.2006 @ 8:30 pm
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The Star Online > Nation
Wednesday June 28, 2006
By ONG YEE TING
PENANG: Charts on movies, books and song albums are commonly found.
But a chart on durians?
Durian King Tan Eow Chong, 45, has created one based on the fruits’ popularity at his stall in Relau.
Placed in front of his Cap Kaki stall is the “durian chart” – a four-tier wooden rack stacked with durians arranged according to their popularity.
“This arrangement helps rookie durian customers to make their choice,” he said, adding that prices ranged from RM3 to RM20 per kg.
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CHART TOPPERS: Tan arranging durians on the urian chart? a four-tier wooden rack at the Cap Kaki durian stall in Relau on Monday | “We also list out the names of the durians on the rack to make it convenient for our customers.”
In the top tier are the three champions of the year, Lan Ciau Yuan, Raja Kunyit and Kulit Hijau No 15.
Tuhan Kasi, last year’s favourite, has dropped to the second tier, along with the once popular Ang Jin, Kapili, Lipan-bala, Udang Merah, and Labu Air.
Foreign tourists, including Tan's loyal “fans” from Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan and South Korea, have been thronging the stall every day since the durian season started.
Ken Tan, 30, from Air Itam, said he had placed an early booking for Raja Kunyit durians, about 10 days ago.
“This durian is very popular and is often in short supply,” he said, adding that he and his family have been patronising Cap Kaki durian stall for many years because of the cleanliness and good service.
“They have a variety of the best durians and they even provide customers with free drinking water,” he said.
A first-timer from the Czech Republic, Jaromir Pelcak, said he was impressed with the “restaurant-like” durian stall.
“This is interesting. I like the creative way they display their fruits and I have fun eating here,” he said.
Tan's son, Chee Wei, 23, said he planned to display photographs of durians that had been prised open on the “chart” next year.
?1995-2005 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd (Co No 10894-D) |
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