britishasian

Two seemingly unconnected stories in the Guradian really made me think of the world we live in today. Both stories reminded me of the European and (eventually) American contributions to world peace and democracy (yes I am being sarcastic). Who can forget the immortal words of George Bush after the tragedy of 911,

“……our way of life, our very freedom came under attack…..”

The first article describes the sale of the gun used to assassinate the Archduke Franz Ferdinand while the second outlines the lunacy exhibited by both sides (Israeli and Palestinian) in describing Paul McCartneys visit to Isreal.

The death off the Archduke caused a cascade of events that led to WW1. This of course paved the way for WW2 and the western guilt over generations of jewish oppression and the establishment of Israel. Of course no one actually mentions the fact in order to make for this new state, a significant number of Palestinians living in the region were either killed or forcibly removed. Of course I don’t expect the Western powers to be moral Guardians for individual rights and freedom (the proliferation of Islam-bashing internet sites is testaments to that, considering that anything criticising Israeli actions these days is often labelled anti-semtic). Equally, I have always been disillusioned by the Muslim/Arab response to the Palestinian ‘problem’. Hell, Jordan decided to annex most of the West bank for itself in 1948.

Then we have the amazing comments made by a Mr Ron Prosor:

“When one of the most admired musicians in the world not only expresses his willingness to visit Tel Aviv, but also publicly talks about the positive things he’s heard about Israel, this is an Israeli diplomatic and PR success of the first order”

Oh yes Mr Proscor. History has been vindicated. The actions of Israel have finally been sanctioned by the greatest pop star the world has known. History teaches us nothing and very often the oppressed become the oppressor. The fact that the vast majority of Palestinians live off aid and charity and have lived in refugee camps for most of their lives, with no hope in sight for a better future, disparately clinging on too a miserable existence. Nobody bats an eyelid. The Palestinians probably deserve it because they hate ‘our way of life’. Or maybe they just happened to be at the wrong place (Palestine) at the wrong time (WW2). Its all ok Mr Prosor, Mr McCartney is here. We can all sleep better tonight.

Then we have the usual predictable, non-constructive and downright ludicrous responses from the ‘Muslim’ quarters:

“…….an Islamist militant told a British paper that the 66-year-old rock star risked being the target of a suicide bombing attack if he visited Israel”

Going back to Georgy, I’m all for freedom to choose a way of life. I have often argues with my colleagues who, rather unfairly I must say, belive my outlook in life is tainted by my upbringing in the UK. My question is, what happened to everybody else’s freedom? What about Palestinian freedom? What happened to Indonesian freedom (Dutch hanging on after WW2 and the ousting of Sukharno in favour of barbaric Suharto, millions of lives lost in the process)? What happened to Indian freedom (British still hanging on after WW2, and eventual partition led to a million deaths)? What happened to Egyption freedom (the Suez War)? What about Iranian democracy (overthrow of Mossadegh in favour of the barbaric Shah)? What happened to democracy in Pakistan (constant supply of western backed military dictatorships and believe it or not, western funded religious schools, designed to train ‘Mujhaideen’ to fight proxy wars against communism).

The list is endless. Why is freedom the preserve of a select few? Why is democracy important only when it suits Government policy?

The problem is not just restricted to Western governments. Why are Muslim government leaders always so quick to turn to ‘Islam’ when things go wrong (when it comes to Muslims they usually do)? Why are Muslims leaders always so hell bent to make a quick profit, at the expense of their own citizens? There is not one single ‘Islamic country’ in this world that is a model for people to look up to.

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Lybia, Eqpyt, Syria, Turkey to name but a few. Go to any of these countries as a tourist (during peace time of course) and you will be very often treated as an honourable guest by individual citizens (Islamic hospitality at its best). The politicians within these countries however would not think twice about getting into bed with foreign governments (or shall I say bending over and taking it in the arse) just to line their pockets and stab their own people in the back.

Its all fucking depressing.

Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity (Martin Luther King jr)

Rand Abdel-Qader, a 17 year old Iraqi English student was stamped and suffocated to death in an apparent ‘honour’ killing by her father and two brothers. The unrepentent father said Rand had brought shame on the family by becoming ‘infatiated’ with a British soldier in Basra.

Apparently his daughter’s, quote “bad genes were passed on from her mother”. Who consequently divorced her husband after the murder and is now in  hiding in fear of her life.

Education teaches us nothing.

An email was recently circulated by colleagues at work warning of the introduction of speed cameras along a very well used (and abused) section of Highway in KL. I found it quite fascinating this message originated and was intended for, western educated academics who generally consider themselves a notch above lesser mortals in society. Surely an educated mind would consider the facts and decide it far more prudent to refrain from driving like a lunatic for the sake of public safety, rather then through fear of a fine. I replied and expressed my opinion in this regard. I was sent a quotation in response:

‘”Malaysians are really nice and kind people…. but don’t know why some become very notorious when they get behind the wheels!’”

Shit! Some? More like all and sundry. Dimwit drivers.

History teaches us nothing.

The Afghan parliament is considering introducing laws to protect Afghans from behaviour considered immoral and ‘un-Islamic’. This includes makeup, men’s jeans, long hair and amazingly, couples talking in public.

Are we alone?

Does God, or whatever divine being one might subscribe to, listen to our prayers? Or are we left to fend for ourselves and learn from our mistakes? From my understanding, the Islamic perspective differentiates between God ‘listening’ to our prayers and ‘accepting’ or ‘answering’ them. God listens to all prayers, however it is totally up to him how and when, if at all, he accepts.

An interesting phrase often touted in Islamic circles is:

‘God helps those who help themselves‘

If we consider life’s ups and downs as a series of events with 50:50 probability of success or failure, by ‘helping oneself’ and trying to change any given situation, we can either succeed or fail (overstating the obvious, I think).

If we succeed, the success will be attributed to the grace of God and his willingness to help us by accepting our prayers. If we fail, friends and family will often advice all things, good and bad come from God. Since there is a reason for everything, the failure should be attributed to a higher purpose and so God did not accepting our prayers since they were deemed inappropriate. Or, in fact the prayers have been answered, but in a way not immediately apparent and this will only be realised at another point in time.

Of course this does nothing to alleviate the wretched feeling of despair and misery one might feel, having not had our ‘prayers answered’ and so failing miserable at the task in hand. Looking at it another way, since it is obvious enough effort was not put into changing one’s predicament, one needs to reappraise the famous phrase above and just try harder (until God accepts).

So, I come back to the original question, are we alone?

Apostasy, and the penalty for leaving Islam is back in the news again and of course its the south Asian community who always seem to be involved in one controversy or another.

What is interesting to come out of this, is the doubt generated over the belief that punishment for apostasy is death. I am certainly no expert in Islam. This also means the last place I look for legal opinions on Islamic questions are the thousands of ‘Islamic’ sites littered over the web. Its not the loudest voice that matters but the smartest and (apparently) most qualified. Thus, it is interesting to note the ruling by the Grand Mufti of Egypt. Announcing the punishment prescribed by many Muslims to apostasy no longer applies.

Many Muslims would consider this view to be liberal misinterpretation of the Quran and Hadith by western educated Muslims, pandering to the whims of their old colonial masters. I say best to leave Islamic law to scholars, and out of the hands of pseudo-intellectuals.

Getting lazy in my old age. Drupal was just too much to handle. Not really suited for quick and easy blogging (yet).

Back to my usual predictable self….

A couple of days ago, my better-half was involved in a minor confrontation with a Malaysian motorist. As she was about to step out to cross a one way street, a car came hurtling down the wrong direction. Narrowly missing her and the twins.

The street in question leads to a kindergarten the twins are currently attending. The school can be accessed in two ways. Firstly, on foot via a cul-de-sac, the end of which has a narrow opening leading out to the one-way street. Secondly, from a major one way system that leads up to the school. Cars will often take a short-cut down this street, against the flow of traffic. On this occasion, the attempted short-cut proved difficult and the driver resorted to emergency maneuvers to avoid oncoming traffic, driving uncomfortably close to the pavement. Where my better-half and twins were standing at the time.

The incident probably would not raise an eyebrow amongst Malaysian motoring veterans. What was quite interesting was the attitude of the driver after the near miss. My better-half decided to express her dissatisfaction and shouted something along the lines:

“You’re not supposed to be travelling down this road, it’s one-way”

One would assume the reaction of the driver would be consolatory. Offering some form of verbal apology, or even a humble raise of the hand to signify regret. No, rather, he wound down is car window and shouted:

“You can’t talk to me like that!”

Only in Malaysia.

One of the first things to notice about Kuala Lumpur is the sheer volume of road traffic. No matter what time it is, there always seems to a traffic jam of some magnitude. Living in TTDI offers great many benefits including the vast number of shops and shopping points so close to ones doorstep. The only down side is the ordeal of driving into downtown Kuala Lumpur during rush hour.

Work is in ‘Chow Kit’, near Kampung Baru (new village). Located a stones throw from central KL. We usually leave home for work 7.10am, and arrive around 7.30am. Not a bad journey, though what strikes you when you get behind the wheel is the complete disregard Malaysians have for fellow motorists. Most roads into KL have 60 to 80 km/h speed limits. However it’s common to see drivers overtake like lunatics at 100+ km/h. Weaving in and out of traffic and overtaking dangerously at every opportunity. Many Malaysian drivers will point to the fact there is no statistical correlation between speed and number of road traffic accidents (my brother-in-law being one of them). Often cited examples are the German autobahns, considered the safest (due to lack of speed limits). Italy on the other hand, is perceived to harbor some of the most dangerous roads in Europe due to the nonchalant attitude of Italian motorists. Though I think Irish roads currently appear to be the worst in Europe.

These ill-informed Malaysian drivers need to consider the ‘enthusiasm’ exhibited by their countrymen out on the open road.

To illustrate, lets look at official 2004 UN road traffic accident figures for a few select countries:

Germany:
Number of passenger cars: 45,376,000
Total number of accidents: 339,310
Killed: 5842

Italy:
Number of passenger cars: 34,310,446
Total number of accidents: 224,553
Killed: 5625

Lets not forget the UK:
Number of passenger cars: 27,765,100
Total number of accidents :207,410
Killed: 3221

The above three Euro countries show a clear trend, the greater the number of cars, the higher the accident rate. Looking at Malaysia (2005)

Number of passenger cars: 15,026,660
Total number of accidents: 328,264
Killed: 6,200

Even taking into consideration any perceived ‘personality issues’ of the Italians, the figures are a damning indictement of Malaysians. Despite only 15 million registered cars on the road, Malaysia has a shockingly high number of road traffic accidents.

OPS SIKAL, a scheme introduced by the Ministry of Transport in an attempt to reduce road traffic accidents, especially during festive seasons when thousands of Malaysians hit the roads has focused on four major areas:

speeding
overtaking in restricted areas
jumping red lights
jumping queues

In my short time in KL, I have witnessed and experienced first hand all of these behavioral traits. Why anyone would want to put the lives of their children at risk for the sake of that 30 second lead (we all know that speeding and driving aggressively do not significantly shorten our journey). There may not be a direct evidencial link between speed and number accidents. What is clear however, no amount of driving experience and education can substitute for good old fashioned patience and common sense.

Only in Malaysia.

Well. Here I am again, after the turmoil of almost two years in the UK. My old blog is gone (sort of), relegated to the pages of history. I hope I can learn from the events of this past year and grow as an individual. My actions (and in-actions) have meant those close to me enduring a great deal. I hope I can redeem myself in the eyes of all concerned, one person in particular.

This is my attempt to restart the blogging process. I have done away with Movabletype (my old favourite) and Wordpress (too predictable) and opted for Drupal, a content managment system. Initial impressions seem favourable, the system allows a for great deal of flexibility. The only downside is a very steep learning curve.