Day: July 20, 2013

By Sakmongkol AK47 |JULY 20, 2013
LATEST UPDATE: JULY 20, 2013 08:43 AM

Tajudin Rahman, currently a deputy minister was never known for niceness. He has always come across as crude, arrogant and condescending. The nearest term that can best describe him as a person is hubristic. That comes from the word hubris (pronounced hew-bris. It means extreme pride or arrogance and comes as a result of an overestimation of one’s own competence or capabilities. Especially when the person demonstrating these qualities is in power. Hubris is also associated with a person having a tunnel vision believing in only his rendition and explanation of things.

That is how Tajudin Rahman approached the Kuala Besut by election- in an arrogant and hubristic manner. DAP is not contesting in Kuala Besut and the core support group of the DAP- the Chinese is hardly present in Kuala Besut. Its almost 99% Malay. It’s a downtrodden extended village that has suffered or has been marginalized during uninterrupted Umno rule at the federal level. The conditions in which the majority Besut Malays find themselves in today is the result of Umno’s handiwork.
Continue reading “Those in whose name we fight and in whose name we betray”

by Sheela R.

As a young girl, growing up in multi-cultural Malaysia, I have had my fair share of challenges. Raised as a vegetarian long before it was recognised and accepted as a healthy lifestyle, I have had to constantly explain my dietary habits to people who are unaquainted with vegetarianism.

As a student at the primary and secondary levels, I had to frequently put up with comments such as,

“Oh! You don’t know what you are missing!”

“If you eat only vegetables you are going to grow up looking green!”

“If you don’t eat meat you won’t be strong!”

“Ikan tak boleh, ayam tak boleh, semua tak boleh, kesian!”

“A vegetarian? What’s that? Are you some sort of vegetable?”

Naturally, such comments riled me, but over the years, I grew to understand that they stemmed from silliness or ignorance rather than wilful malice. I learned not to react to such distasteful comments but to respond with dignity. I eventually found ways to explain to others, the socio-cultural reasons for my diet. Invariably, once they understood my reasons for abstaining from meat, they became highly respectful and sensitive towards my dietary requirements. Continue reading “Alvivi – a dignified response”