Open Arms for Zakir Naik in Malaysia

In April this year, televangelist and Islamic cleric Zakir Naik (left) created a furious furor among non-Muslims when he came to conduct a series of lectures in Malaysia – with many claiming he had demeaned other religions in his provocative sermons.

 

They also demanded Zakir be barred from speaking as his sermons could harm the harmony in Malaysia’s multi-religious society.

 

The Malaysian government's response was telling. They supported and embraced him.

 

Zakir who is from India is not without controversy. He came under the media spotlight after Bangladeshi authorities said that one of the gunmen responsible for an attack on Holey Artisan Bakery, a Dhaka café on July 02, 2016 and which left 22 people dead – had been inspired by him.

 

Following the bloody assault, both India and Bangladesh launched investigations into the controversial Zakir.

 

In November, India's counterterrorism agency, the National Investigation Agency, filed a First Information Report, an official police complaint, against him and the Mumbai-based non-profit Islamic Research Foundation that he established in 1991, accusing him of indulging in unlawful activities and promoting religious hatred.

 

The Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi also responded by imposing a five-year ban on the IRF under the country's anti-terror laws.

 

His Peace TV has been banned in both India and Bangladesh. The Islamic channel broadcasts from Dubai which Zakir founded in 2006 and which claims to reach 100 million people worldwide.

 

It had aired inflammatory talks in respect to Hindus, Jews and Christians, and even the Sufis and Shias, calling them qabr parast (grave worshippers) and thus mushrik and kafir (polytheist and infidel).

 

The Office of Communications (Ofcom) – the British government’s regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries – had investigated the programs aired on Peace TV and its research findings confirmed in 2011 that it contained extremist messages.

 

To top it all, there is a bounty on his head. Not one but two.

 

On Tuesday, an India-based Shia group reportedly offered Rs15 million rupees (RM884,033) on Facebook, declaring that anyone who kills Zakir will receive the cash reward and also rewards in the afterlife.

 

According to the Hindustan Times, Hussaini Tigers’ president Syed Kalbe Hussain Naqvi claimed that Zakir is a “khalnayak” (Hindi for villain) and a “kafir” (heathen) for insulting “the Prophet of Muslims”.

 

And on Thursday, a Hindu nationalist politician Sadhvi Prachi, declared a 50 lakhs (RM2.94 million) reward in her personal capacity for Zakir’s beheading.

 

“I have announced the reward because Zakir Naik is not a religious preacher, but a terrorist”, she was quoted telling Indian daily The Indian Express in a report published Friday.

 

She also reportedly urged India to investigate the terror links of all “such preachers working in madrasahs” in the country.

 

The UK, Canada and other countries have already barred Zakir from their countries.

 

And yet, Malaysia welcomes this hateful heel with open arms. What’s wrong with my country?

Complaint about Not Wearing a Seatbelt

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles are driven to the Palace of Westminster for the State Opening of Parliament in London last month. Reuters pic

A member of the public had reported Queen Elizabeth for not wearing a seatbelt.

 

According to news reports, the unnamed party dialed 999 as the British monarch was driven to the State Opening of Parliament in London in her official car on June 21, 2017.

 

West Yorkshire Police confirmed the call really was made in a tweet that read: “999 call received reporting that the Queen isn’t wearing a seatbelt #not999 #notevenwestyorkshire”.

 

Noted but I wonder if she was issued a ticket?!

 

Kajang in Selangor is not just a small town that is about 20km south of Kuala Lumpur. Yesterday, I dropped in at Vicky Chen's place called Red Clementine and this is what was being served:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you happen to be in the vicinity, do drop by because it is well worth the visit. in to Vicky Chen's place called Red Clementine. It is located at G3A in MKH Boulevard, Jalan Changkat.

 

I assure you it is well worth a visit.

Pakatan Harapan Logo

Finally.

Pakatan Harapan unveiled their logo at a press conference on Thursday night – it features the word “harapan” (hope) against a red backdrop – and with a vertical arrowhead pattern representing the “A” alphabet in the middle.

 

President Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said it conveyed the message that the opposition coalition would scale the mountain of hope, as indicated by the design, in wresting Putrajaya from Barisan Nasional.

 

If you look at the logo carefully, you may notice that the “A”-like element closely resembles the Star Trek insignia – from the popular sci-fi TV series and movies.

 

Wan Azizah explained yesterday that she had no issue with the association.

 

“It is like a famous line from Star Trek. In the past, no one has been able to defeat BN”, she said, referring to the famous mission statement of the starship USS Enterprise from the series – “to boldly go where no man has gone before”.

 

Well-said!

A Lesson on Living Life

We often forget to live in the present. How to live Life. Meaningfully. Purposefully.

More importantly, to be happy and make others happy.

That aside, I attended a Toastmasters meeting.

 

And I delivered my CC#8 “Delusional”. It was totally impromptu because the speech title was given to me by the Toastmaster-of-the-Day just before the actual meeting started. I also used two props that I found at the venue itself.

 

And still, it was a good speech, if I may say so myself! I deserve a pat on the back.

Cow Masks

Behind the mask: the project questions whether it is safer to be a sacred animal than a woman in India. Photographs: Sujatro Ghosh

They are all pictures of women doing everyday activities: A woman on a street, a woman playing the piano in her home, a woman lounging in a boat, a woman at a table in a restaurant. All are unremarkable – except that they are wearing a cow mask.

 

The photos aim to highlight the growing violence against women in India, while also drawing attention to a wave of attacks on religious minorities accused of eating beef or slaughtering cows – considered sacred by many Hindus.

 

“People are getting lynched in this country to protect cows. But women’s safety is neglected and violence against women is rising”, Kolkata photographer Sujatro Ghosh said of his project.

 

“If we can protect cows, then why not women?” Violence against women has been under the spotlight since a fatal gang-rape of a student on a bus in New Delhi, India in 2012 sparked nationwide protests about entrenched violence against women and the failure of authorities to protect them.

 

Since then, India has enacted tougher jail sentences for rapists and promised to try those accused through “fast-track” courts but rape, acid attacks and domestic violence remain prevalent and commonplace.

 

More than 327,390 crimes against women were registered in India in 2015, an increase of more than half since 2010.

 

But activists say many crimes go unreported because women are afraid of reprisals from their attackers, or because they are ashamed to report them.

 

There has also been a surge in violence against people accused of harming cows. Earlier this month, a 16-year-old Muslim boy was stabbed to death on a train on suspicion of carrying beef – the latest victim of about 28 people murdered in cow-related violence since 2010. 

 

Most were killed after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist party won elections three years ago. Modi last week finally decided to break his silence and condemned the violence by so-called cow protection groups, some of which have links to his party.

 

Ghosh, who began by photographing his friends and family in Delhi and Kolkata wearing the cow mask, said he has been flooded with offers from women to pose for his project since he began posting the pictures on social media.

 

He has taken about 30 photographs so far, and is raising money via crowdfunding to take the project across the country.

 

But he has also been attacked on social media for the project, which some people see as belittling the cow.

 

“I hope people get the message and realise we need to protect women with at least as much zeal as we protect cows”, Ghosh said.

There's Nothing Wrong with Skirts for Men

Image credit: http://www.futuretimeline.net/forum/topic/15988-what-feminine-clothing-items-will-become-part-of-menswear-in-the-future/

Image credit: https://www.facebook.com/SatisfashionUG/photos/a.570051336363196.1073741827.178295428872124/1613744285327224/?type=3&theater

We have been experiencing scorching hot temperatures these days.

 

It’s probably, the perfect weather for a nice, cool skirt. But not if you’re a bloke, obviously. Men don’t wear skirts.

 

Wrong!

 

Scottish men have worn kilts since at least the 1600s. And it’s not just them who are partial to a man-skirt.

 

In ancient Greece and Rome, men commonly wore tunics. Likewise, Egyptian Pharaohs also wore wraparound skirts called shendyts.

 

Today, outside of the Western world, men still commonly wear sarong-like garments. In countries such as India (dhotis), Myanmar (longyis), Fiji (pareos), Samoa (lavalavas) and Tonga (tupenus). In fact, the Fijian police have an especially striking uniform.

 

All in all, you’ve got to conclude the man-skirt has a long and noble tradition.

 

Still, we all know only too well that the burden of compliance on dress codes is normally placed on women – whether it be requiring them to don heels instead of flats, not to wear leggings or simply to “dress like a woman”.

 

I think it’s time to scrap gendered uniform lists – not just for women but also for men – and the stupid invisible social rules which dictate what women and men should wear.

 

Dr Peter McNeil, a Professor of Design History at University of Technology Sydney, Australia noted that in the 1980s, public figures – like designer Gaultier and musicians Boy George and Marilyn Manson – were playing with notions of gender.

 

As Gaultier told The New York Times after his show in 1984: “Wearing a skirt doesn’t mean you’re not masculine. Masculinity doesn’t come from clothes. It comes from something inside you. Men and women can wear the same clothes and still be men and women. It’s fun”.

 

That may be so but as Dr McNeil said, that men who actually wore the “beautiful and sexy and nice to wear” skirts were often subjected to derision.

 

“I think that’s why men are still so scared of skirts – it’s a social phobia. The trouser is so ingrained in the western mentality but of course it’s got very little to do with masculinity”. Dr McNeil explained.

 

So, bring on the skirts. I am ready!

A Set of 3 Unique Abodes

Bernama pics

Kampung Changkat Setoi in Changlun, Kedah has some unique abodes that are worth a visit.

 

Three residences – the tilting, upside-down and ‘hobbit’ houses are clustered in an 0.8-hectare housing zone called ‘MnM Home Whimsical Houses’.

 

According to the owner, Dr Mahamad Tayib, 60, he built the houses at the end of 2015 to derive satisfaction in expressing his imagination via architecture.

 

“The idea to build the whimsical houses came following visits to several upside-down houses in Malaysia and abroad...and since Changlun has yet to have a tourist attraction, I built them”, the former University Utara Malaysia lecturer told Bernama.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday afternoon, I attended the PIDM Toastmasters meeting at Level 12 in the Axiata Tower in KL Sentral, Kuala Lumpur. I was tasked with evaluating Table Topics – there were five speakers – as well as guiding a newbie in the Timekeeper’s role.

 

A good meeting overall.

Plastic Shaming

Pic from Shame or Glory/YouTube

It even features Hannah Waddingham, the same actress who played the stoic Septa Unella in the original Games of Throne TV episode.

There is this company called SodaStream which sell products that let you carbonate water at home.

 

And their strategy is to take the offensive and discredit bottled water companies.

 

SodaStream CEO Daniel Birnbaum had slammed the bottled water industry, calling it 'the biggest advertising and marketing scam ever in history'.

 

In an interview with Yahoo Finance, he said, “Bottled water companies profit from 'public water'”.

 

He further added: “Half of the bottled water in America is from municipal sources, put in a nice package glorified, with a beautiful name as if it's coming from Italy or somewhere, with a very high ticket and that's misleading consumers”.

 

To this end, a Game of Thrones-style ad became part of Sodastream's Shame or Glory campaign.

 

Birnbaum explained: “Basically it's a walk of shame, only it's about plastic bottles because the plastic bottles are indeed very shameful to the planet where we're using so many of them and they just become trash in the oceans and in parks and whatnot – it’s a disaster”.

 

Of course, we all know plastic bottles are a major hazard to our planet.

 

The said commercial was hit with six cease-and-desist letters – one of which was from the International Bottled Water Association, which represents some of the big brands including Nestle and Fiji Water. The letter had demanded that the advert no longer be shown.

 

“Of course we will not comply because there's nothing false or misleading or defaming in that ad”, Birnbaum had insisted. "It's the simple truth but it's very inconvenient for these folks who are making a ton of money".

 

"While claiming environmental concerns about plastic bottles, your company's video singles out bottled water products for criticism, but not less-healthy sugary beverages that are also packaged in plastic – such as carbonated soft drinks, energy drinks, and juices”.

 

IBWA even claimed that bottled water has the lowest environmental footprint of all packaged beverages. In particular, the amount of water and energy used to produce bottled water is less than any other packaged drink, supposedly.

 

Also, it emphasized that all bottled water containers are 100 percent recyclable.

 

For those who are fans of Games of Throne, the commercial satirized the moment proud Cersei Lannister was stripped and marched through Kings Landing to the shouts of 'shame'.

 

The funny footage even used the same set and actress Hannah Waddingham, who played the stoic Septa Unella in the original episode.

 

There was even a cameo from Thor Bjornsson who plays fearless warrior 'The Mountain' on the show.

 

The video followed a shopper picking up some sparking water from a supermarket, at which point the Septa appeared and began shouting 'shame' at him. Despite the man's best efforts to leave her behind, she caught up with him and hounded him down the street before the angry local populace turned on him.

 

After rounding a corner he found himself on the Game of Thrones set, walking through Fleabottom as peasants hurled fruit and vegetables at him.

 

Eventually he emerged backstage where he handed the bottles to Bjornsson, only to be sternly rebuked for choosing plastic. The latter blasted him, telling him to make his own next time and bluntly saying “F*** plastic bottles”.

 

It is somewhat over the top, but nonetheless, still a good commercial.

A Dangerous Case of Cardboardophilia

AFP Photo

Image credit: https://www.rt.com/news/395254-shell-female-cutouts-groping/

Energy giant Shell were compelled to remove all their life-sized standees of a woman displayed at their petrol stations – just because photos of Malaysian men groping the “figure” went viral.

 

Indeed, this woman – the unfortunate "victim" was a 25-year-old Nor Shafila Khairusalleh, who worked at a Shell station, and who had condemned the disgusting behavior of the men who had “molested her likeness”!

 

The photos were generously shared all over Facebook – and they showed men kissing the cardboard cutouts, holding her hand and even grabbing her breast and crotch!

 

"They may just be joking, but I feel humiliated because that is still myself although it is just an image", Nor Shafila told news portal mStar.

 

The Anglo-Dutch group said in a statement that "we do not condone this disrespectful act, which is completely against the culture of Malaysians and Shell´s core values. We urge netizens and members of the public to refrain from sharing these images further”.

 

LOL!!! Too late, the pics are everywhere.

 

Misbehaving Malaysian men. But methinks, it is a lot more serious than that.

Methinks these men suffer from cardboardophilia and it is infectious.

LifeBurger

What is your LifeBurger? Check this video out!

And try not to cry as these people get reunited with the best burger of their life.

I really didn’t know food can make a person weep.

 

Wonder Woman, the Gal Gadot superhero movie has generated worldwide ticket sales amounting to $708,444,475 as of yesterday.

By any measurement, it has been a mammoth success.

Extreme Weather

Image credit: http://www.summit107.com/news/east-kootenay-news/heat-wave-prompts-special-weather-statement-from-environment-canada/

Image credit: http://nation.com.pk/blogs/17-Aug-2015/climate-change-is-not-a-problem-for-another-generation-not-anymore

Image credit: http://thestarryeye.typepad.com/weather/rainstorms/

All it took was a half a degree Celsius of global warming and we witnessed heat waves and heavy rains in many places on the planet!

 

Researchers from the Potsdam Institute of Climate Impact Research – a German government-funded research institute dedicated to the study of global change and its impacts on ecological, economic and social systems – reported Friday that comparing two 20-year periods 1960-79 and 1991-2010, average global temperatures jumped 0.5 C (0.9 F).

 

The hottest summer temperatures increased by more than 1 C (1.8 F) across a quarter of Earth’s land areas, while the coldest winter temperatures warmed by more than 2.5 C (4.5 F).

 

And the intensity of extreme precipitation grew nearly 10 percent across a quarter of all land masses, while the duration of hot spells which can fuel devastating forest fires lengthened by a week in half of the land areas.

 

These changes were well outside the bounds of natural variability.

 

This study was featured in the journal Nature Climate Change.

 

Can somebody please tell Donald Trump that global warming is real? And don’t blame everything on the Chinese!