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“[Western governments] should avoid any sort of religious engineering … the management of Islam should be delinked from the issue of immigration and multiculturalism. Islam should be treated merely as a religion, and not as the expression of ethnic minority groups.”

Olivier Roy, in Globalised Islam (emphasis added)

I couldn’t agree more!

Turkish Daily News printed the report below.

So….. In defending the move to allow women wear headscarf in public places, the Turkish President says that Turkey will not be like Malaysia, eh? If that does not make Muslims in Malaysia think, I don’t know what will.

Malaysians who want to know more about Turkey should also click here.

President defends government’s move to lift headscarf ban
Thursday, September 20, 2007

President Gül assures skeptics that Turkey will not be like Malaysia where special police units are formed to punish people who don’t fast during Ramadan. ‘Turkey is a country negotiating with the EU,’ says Gül

ANKARA – Turkish Daily News

President Abdullah Gül late Tuesday defended the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) decision to lift the headscarf ban in universities and tried to assure skeptics that this move will not make Turkey like Malaysia where Islamic rules dominate social life.

“It is much better for (women who cover up) to go to university than to stay home and be isolated from social life,” Gül told reporters in northern Cyprus.

Gül, who was from the AKP until he became head of state in a crisis-ridden election last month, also pushed for an end to the ban. “We have to see the issue from the point of individual freedoms and as a result of modernity,” daily Milliyet quoted Gül as saying yesterday.

Gül played down concerns that lifting the ban might result in women who do not wear the headscarf being put under social pressure by conservatives to cover up.

“We are people who have lived side by side in peace … There can be both girls who cover up and who do not in the same family. This is our social structure and we have lived like that for years,” he said.

Turkey is not Malaysia

Respected sociologist Prof. Şerif Mardin warned the government that Turkey could become like Malaysia if lifting the ban would create pressure on uncovered women. “Those who are talking about Malaysia are not really aware of that country. Turkey will not become Malaysia,” Gül said.

He said that Turkey is a country negotiating for full membership with the European Union and added, “we would be conflicting with today’s world if we grant freedoms only to certain groups. Turkey’s priority is to continue democratic and economic reforms and to complete its negotiations with the EU successfully. If there are still such fears in Turkey, I doubt it,” he said.

The recent budget includes a significant COLA increase for overseas students sponsored by the JPA. While this is good news for those who are on the receiving end, it cannot be good for Malaysia in the long term. The increase is selective and does not cover all JPA sponsored students. Those whose COLA are not increased would cry foul.

There are already voices of discontent among students in Ireland and Egypt. As expected, they too want their allowance to be increased. Even the students are now being trained to demand more taxpayers money for their wallets.

Met with Datuk Kamal Amir at Hilton Metropole today. I have never met him before. Apparently he writes a lot, including in Malaysia Today. But because I have not been following his writing, I wasn’t sure what to expect.

Well….. my main conclusion is, we see Malaysia with two different perspectives.

I believe the so called ’social contract’ can be, and should be, re-negotiated. After all, it is not even a written contract, and, in the absence of a written text, anybody can make any claim as to what the social contract is. But Datuk Kamal strongly defends the social contract.

I see Malaysia as belonging to each and every citizen, equally. Datuk Kamal agrees, but at the same time, argues that Bumiputras are the sons of the soil and therefore their (or, should I say, our?) special previleges must be protected.

I am not that bothered about language, and whether or not people speak Malay. But to Datuk Kamal, language is the basis of culture and civilisation.

I try not to concern myself too much as to which party governs Malaysia so long as they respect the rule of law and freedom of citizens. But Datuk Kamal vehemently defended Barisan Nasional (although he is also vehemently against Abdullah Badawi)

I can understand where he is coming from. As an ethnic minority myself (in Britain, that is), I believe it is imperative for everyone in this country to integrate into the wider society. He believes that Malays are the son of the soil and therefore, just like the second and third generation ethnic minority in Britain has to adapt to life in Britain, ethnic minority in Malaysia has to adapt too.

It didn’t even cross my mind to call for the British government to switch from English to Malay. Rather, it is I who have to learn English. On the same logic, as Bahasa Kebangsaan, Bahasa Melayu should be the main language of the land and everybody must be able to converse fluently in Malay.

And, as a Conservative, I would defend Conservative values. Similarly, as an UMNO supporter, he defends UMNO.

Nevertheless, the one thing you cannot deny is that he has lots of information in his hands. He was very strong in his criticism against Abdullah Badawi, and he cited specific cases to explain his case. He also accepted that we don’t really have anyone else to hold the top post (the one person he named, we agreed, do not have the necessary support-base to become PM). Anwar Ibrahim caused him great frustration. And PAS….. well, let’s not even get there.

But my key point is, he has his arguments and he was not talking empty. Almost every single thing he raised to me in our short meeting was backed my sound arguments. We may have different perspectives, but I only have respect for those who use intellect rather than emotion.

Looks like I will be adding Datuk Kamal’s writings into my reading list!

I was on my way to meet Dato Abdul Rahman Ibrahim of KRB Holdings at Malaysia Hall this morning when I got a call asking if it would be possible for me to meet Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing later in the afternoon. That, simply, is an opportunity that even a fool would not miss.

I have heard so much about the man, and I knew that he had opened a branch of the Limkokwing University in London. And I have also heard that he likes eveything black. But I have not met him personally before.

When we arrived at the cafe in Harrods, Limkokwing University’s vice-president, Dr Jayles Yeoh, was already waiting. Not long afterwards Tan Sri Lim arrived, with some shopping. (Of course, he was wearing all black!). I was quite surprised when he said “This is for you”, handing to me a bag with some Harrods goody. How many Tan Sri do you know who would take the trouble to buy gifts for people who come to see them?

We touched on various issues, but focused mainly on education in Malaysia, social cohesion, and influencing policy-makers. Tan Sri Lim was optimistic about the future. On politics, he said we must be patient. Impatience would only make your ideas be rejected, no matter how good they may be. When it came to education, he became very passionate. Our education system must challenge the best brains, and must not be based on learning by rote. If you don’t encourage students to think, they will become just another average Joe. And we don’t need more average Joes.

What can I say? It was a great meeting.

The Merdeka Carnival 2007 took place on 1 September at The Tun Abdul Razak Research Centre, Brickendonbury. The last time I went there to celebrate Merdeka was back in 1993, just a few days after I first arrived to the UK. This year I took the whole family.

It was definitely a bigger do. And there were more exhibitors too. There was one stall in particular that elated me. They sell buah ciku!!! At £5 per kilo, they’re not very cheap. But after many years not tasting the fruit, it was definitely worth it.

One Pakcik caught my attention. I remember vaguely talking to someone back in 1993, but I couldn’t be sure if it was the same Pakcik. But, either way, he is a very colourful character. Apparently he has been to the Merdeka Celebration every year since hefirst migrated to London many years back. While queing at one of the food stalls, he came over and said to everyone in the queue, “No wife, no life lah”.

I was a bit disappointed with the cultural performance, though. We had the dragon dance, a sitar player, but no Malay cultural performance. There were Malays performing, but nothing more than some pop bands who were not very good. One band member shouted “How are you London?”. It was in the middle of Hertfordshire lah, idiot! London is another hour south!

But, overall, I think the Carnival was good. Of course, just like anything else, it could have been better. But it was a fun day out.