JUBLI PERAK SULTAN ISMAIL PETRA MOSQUE OF RANTAU PANJANG

This mosque is widely labeled as The Chinese Mosque or Beijing Mosque of Rantau Panjang. This is very misleading though we can understand why. The dominant chinese influence in the overall design and lay-out evident from the color, bamboo shape roof cladding and the rooflines give credence to this notion. The entrance 'pintu gerbang' is already very chinese. One would not know that this is a mosque had there been no signages to signify it. The building itself strike an alien feature to the malay-asian overall landscape of the area in vicinity.

However, not many know it seems from web searches that the concept of this mosque is 'Masjid Tiga Bangsa'. It was intended to be a mosque having the architectural elements of the three major races in Malaysia. The Kelantan MB, himself a religous figurehead of PAS was very passionate to promote the idea that Islam is for all and not just for Malays. He especially want to woo the chinese to Islam and in many speeches he quoted admiration for them, their culture, their culinaries and health consciousness. He even has a chinese Muslim made EXCO and given important responsibility of bringing in investors and an outlet to air chinese views in Kelantan. The chinese muslim admiral Cheng Ho was lauded and an exhibition of him was made in Kota Bharu Nov 2010 to show that Islam had been to China earlier than to The Malay Archipelago.

The design was entrusted to JKR Kelantan and the architect visited numerous mosques to conceptualise the idea of the mosque of the three races. We can be forgiven for not realising the other races elements in the design because of the overpowering presence of the chinese influence. However, knowing of this concept, we can recognise the malay element inside the mosque complex before entering the Dewan Solat (Prayer Hall). The entrance side panel is Malay. The wall panels of the prayer hall is also from traditional malay houses. 

The Indian influence is harder to find though. Only after close scrutiny could I find the element in the 'mimbar' of the mosque. The moon crescent and five pointed stars is definitely Indian Muslim element.


I find this rather odd. The Indian Muslims have a very wide influence over the landscape of Islamic practices in Malaysia. The chinese influence is nowhere compared to the Indian Muslim presence with Masjid Jamek found in every major community here. The Indian Muslim restaurants also flourish in every nook and corner of Malaysia. So how come their presence is not given due recognition here? Is the need to attract chinese 'voters' more important to give due recognition?

After walking around the mosque and inspecting the design I found something rather inappropriate in the design of the roof overhang. One could not mistake the dragon element here. Though it is chinese, it should not be used in a mosque design. Animalistic elements is alien to Islamic design and reeks of idol worshiping which is the enemy of Islam.

The construction quality however leaves much to be desired. The plastering work looks crude and stain is already very visible at the gable ends despite just a few years of service. The supposed to be clean lines of the minaret all the way to the top is another case of bad job.

Another eyebrow raising detail is why this mosque is built here, in malay majority Rantau Panjang and not in Kota Bharu which is more central and have a sizeable chinese population? Also it would attract more tourists. I dont see many people in the mosque during my visit, in fact I only see a few... Does it serve its intended purpose... Hard to say.

THE INSPIRA MONOLOGUE

I am a Proton Inspira 2.0L CVT. I am metallic silver in colour and named CCS 6306. And I was borned on 7th Jan 2011; at least that was the date on my Birth Certificate. Although the manufactured date was marked as 2010, for all intent and purposes I was born on the 7th jan 2011. Prior to that I was masterless, and as such has yet to earn my honour, dignity and recognition as stallion of pride to my owner.


I have waited eagerly for this date. I look forward to serving my master with competence and joy, to be caressed and loved till a ripe old age without being sold to another buyer. I have full confidence that my heart; a 2.0L CVT from that master breeder Mitsubishi would continue to serve my master over long period. My heart has been tested rigorously and tuned to performance by that master breeder and I am confidence my master would love the hum and growl of me on throttle response.

My master had rushed back after going through the registration process and even took a day off work, braving the flood along the way on hearing of my arrival, just so as not to waste any time in claiming me from the supplier. For that I am so grateful. It make me feeled loved and wanted. My master even insisted on a proper sales 'akad' made to legitimise my ownership, both legally and in religious sense. It made me feeled blessed and gave me confidence to serve over long period, knowing that I have been sort of baptised.

Soon after claiming me, my master took be back to his house where he made a 'Solat Hajat' with his family, asking for safety and baraqah from the Al Mighty God. After that he took the can of water in front of the prayer and sprinkled all over my body outside and inside, invoking the name of the Holy Prophet in the process. I could almost cry for that if I knew how. It was so good. I felt as though the good water seeped through my beeing, filling me with feelings of being blessed and honoured.

That evening I was taken to a house not far away where an elderly lady of fair skin lived. She seemed so very please to see my master. I could almost feel the bond of love and respect between them. Latter that evening my master took her, her daughter and family along for a leisure drive around town. The way they patted my skin and fingered the outline of my inside, I knew that they liked me and fully approved of the decision to own me, not that I know what that meant to my master. I just feel that such an approval is important to him.

When I was taken from the dealer's place, I just clocked 15km on the odometer. By next day I was on the road for a long journey back to my master's place in Kuantan. I was still feeling rather tight, my muscles not well oiled yet for rough work. My master seemed to understand that very well. He treated me so gently, just gradually stepping on the throttle to speed up or even when overtaking and I responded in kind; humming contently and with some slight growl when he stepped up a bit on the pedal. At times he skipped the automatic and drove me manually using the paddle shifts or the right end slot of the gear lever. I was equally at ease with both mode. By the time we reached Kuantan, my odometer had already clocked almost 700km.
I was a bit worried lest my master forgot the utmost important first service at 1,000km.

Needless to say my fear was unfounded. After the weekend of travelling nearby, my odometer was almost 1,000 and although he had a course somewhere at Kijal, his daughter took me to the Proton Service Center for that important service. Next day I was taken to him at Awana Kijal; a grand golf resort overlooking The South China Sea where he was undergoing the course. I was parked in the main entrance porch together with the likes of Beemers and Mercedes and it made me feel so proud and special. "Of course you are, you dumb!!" Ooops that was my master yelling. Need to keep my voice down a few notches.

Now that I had undergone the first service, my muscles feel so much better and more ready for hard works. I feel lighter, less tight and more responsive. My master seemed to feel this and pushed me harder this time, even reaching 130kph whence before he just keep it up to 110kph. However, I dont mind at all for I feel more exuberant now. I hope he has some patience to not push me too hard until after my second service at 5,000km which is also important. To date I still have around 3,000km to go and I am look forward to it. I am eagerly looking forward to that second service after which I will be fully ready to flex my muscles as much as my master desires and sprint out to my limit. Oh how I am looking forward to that day of unrestrained freedom..YEYYYY.

MASS MOVEMENT TOWARDS CIVIL CULTURE

Monday, 20th December 2010: The Star:

Twenty-seven passengers of a tour bus were killed after the vehicle hit a divider and overturned on its way down from Cameron Highlands Monday. Twenty-two died at the scene of the accident and five at the Raja Permaisuri hospital here. Another 10 injured, four of whom are men, were being treated at the hospital. Two of the men were said to be in critical condition. This is believed to be the worst road accident in the nation's history.

Discussion thread in Facebook;
Ahmad Rafdi Endut: Selagi tiada penguatkuasaan yang lebih ketat kepada pengusaha dan pemandu bas, selagi itulah kemalangan ini akan sentiasa berlaku. Just came back from KL just now driving in NPE. I drove in the middle lane with a speed of approx. 90kmh. Sud...denly, saw a headlight flashing on me and saw a tour bus behind me. Without any warning, the bus overtook me on the left lane and in a bout less than 5 minute, the bus was gone. The driver drove it like a mad man and manage to see the driver swerving from right to left lane like a mad men. That's how buses were drove in Malaysia.....masyaallah...
Razali Derahman: Safety of public buses have been discussed too many times but things like thing keep happening.. Time to talk less and act more. Each bus need to display the driver's name, bus comp, bus number, route no and JPJ Aduan number with message "Sila lapor kpd no. Ini jika pemandu memandu dgn cara bahaya" - in 3 languages.
Moslim Othman:  My personal opinion for long distance express bus, it is the drivers welfare, reasonable salary and working hours that must be looked into. Pass the cost to the passengers. Otherwise aduan is just another aduan waiting for accidents to happen

I believe the crux of the problem is that we are still far from reaching the status of a Civil Society where civilised culture is entrenched in the way of life of the population. If we are living in such a society, the drivers would understand that their driving license is in fact an acknowledgement of responsibility on the road. They would respect such acknowledgement and uphold safety as consequence of such respect. They would not jeopardised such acknowledgement by maniacal driving to achieve trip counts demanded by their tawkeys or bus operators. When drivers would not succumb to such demands, the operators would have no choice but be responsible as well, else they will be left with buses without drivers. The Law of Supply and Demand would operate here.


The journey to a Civilised Culture where responsibility is paramount and in-built into the psyche of the people as intrinsic of their culture needs more than the hands of the government or regulators.

It need Mass Movement where such feelings need to be sowed, cultivated, popularised and culturised to become National Identity. It needs support from all fronts; media, social network, blogs, talk show, radio (rather than just song after song and rubbish talks), kedai kopi talk, and social discussions apart from good regulation and appropriate law.

People need to believe and feel that being responsible is chick, up-to-date, trendy, enviable and not giving way to rebellion culture. This should be across board, across religions, across racial identity and should become a Mass Movement that transcend partisan politics.

This must be a top priority. People need to believe that this Movement is for the betterment of all and not just a tool for the Government of the Day and rally to this call as Malaysian.

KULAI STUDENT

A student of Kulai Primary school name Chong San was named best student of Sejarah for his sound knowledge of local history. Despite gross assumption by many of the racialist minded spectrum of the society, Chong San was a true blue 1M at heart. His hero is PM Najib Tun Razak of whom he held in high regard. However Chong San had at first difficulty in adusting to the new environment of his school being freshly transfered from his home town of Melaka, and from the Baba heritage.

His best friend is Tan Hong Ming who has a crutch to a certain Malay girl named Umi Kazrina. Both were sore thumbs to some sector who sees befriending and socialising with the etnic malays as loosing their roots. Those group of people resort to namings to plant hatred among the chinese youths. Jibes such as Mammakutty were frequently used to sow hatred. However their hatred were only for the local etnics. Even a Singh (Punjabi) was accepted as a hero to play Phua Chu Kang. A Punjabi with 'baby' name was most vocal in jeering and mockering the local etnics and his posts past around among those groups and laugh at amidst bouts of beer and other alcoholic drinks.

Chong San was saddened at these trends that resort to poisoning of the minds among racial line. Being a Baba origin who have lived in this county since Hang Li Po's arrival at Melaka during the Melaka Sultanate and enjoyed the mixing of culture over centuries, he understood very well the expansive spirit of the local etnics, their patience sowed through Islam upbringing and easy loving culture that had welcomed the immigrants from other countries to live peacefully among themselves. The ingrate tendencies being perpetually poisoned in the minds of his racial groups makes him very worried. He remembers very well the lessons implanted by his parent to treat and mix with the locals well and never to provoke the locals too much for too long that broke their armour of goodness and pushed them to the 'amok' tendencies. Tales of such amoks were told. Under that condition they would swept anything in their path, even death. With that background, Chong San was always cordial with the society around him and when the call of 1M was made by PM Najib, he was most happy and immediately sign as fan to the PM's blog.

Chong San now has a mission. Together with Tan Hong Ming, they strived to lead a new way. They planned to start a new trend of social integration that blurs the racial lines that divides. They strove to stop this trend of hatred sentiments amongs the chinese minds through perpetual readings of Malaysiakini and other hatred mails of the day being made staple diets to poisoned minds. Chong San is very conscious of the lessons learnt through his parent and his in-depth knowledge of local history that the current trend is a recipe to disaster. He does not want the good life his family had through the ages here be jeopardised by these rabid disease spreading among younger people and in blogspears.

Well, Chong San and Tan Hong Ming... good luck. You have my full support. May you be successful in your endeavours.

3 CHINESE BROTHERS

Three Chinese brothers, Bu, Chu, and Fu, want to illegally live in America. The brothers decide to change their names to seem American. Bu changes his name to Buck. Chu changes his name to Chuck. And Fu got sent back to China.

CHINESE SUPPLIES

An Italian, a Scotsman and a Chinese fellow are hired at a construction site. The foreman points out a huge pile of sand. He says to the Italian guy, "You're in charge of sweeping." To the Scotsman he says, "You're in charge of shovelling." And to the Chinese guy, "You're in charge of supplies." He then says, "Now, I have to leave for a little while. I expect you guys to make a dent in that there pile of sand."
So when the foreman returns, after being away for a couple of hours, the pile of sand is untouched. He asks the Italian, "Why didn't you sweep any of it?"
The Italian replies, "I no hava no broom. You saida to the Chinese-a fella that he a wasa in a charge of supplies, but he hasa disappeared and I no coulda finda him nowhere."


Then the foreman turns to the Scotsman and says, And you, I thought I told you to shovel this pile." The Scotsman replies, "Aye, that ye did laddie, boot ah couldnay get meself a shoovel! Ye left th' Chinese gadgie in chairge of supplies, boot ah couldnay fin' him neither."


The foreman is really angry now. He storms off toward the pile of sand to look for the Chinese guy. Just then, the Chinese guy leaps out from behind the pile of sand and yells, "SUPPLIES!!"

CHINESE AND MONEY

There’s always a particular smell of burning incense when one walks through the gates of a Buddhist temple. The smoke looms around in a mist-like form. The air is difficult to breathe and some of the people’s eyes burn from the ashes around. The faithful continue to add more to the already huge amount of incense of all shapes and sizes—the little flames on the top of the incense glows through the misty smoke. Before these incense lays the deities, to whom some ask for divine guidance for their cause. 
Today, a girl was burning something else in the temple. I looked down at what she was burning—some form of paper money? It appeared so. She was dropping them into the flames one by one. I had seen something like this before—somewhere in a Chinese movie, a man was dropping paper money in a makeshift grill for his brother who had died. Curiously, I approached the girl.

“May I see one of those?” I asked
“Of course,” the woman replied.
I looked at what the paper money said. “Hell money,” it read on the bottom.
......

I remember reading about this in the Novel; Taipan by James Clavell. The girl, his consort, was burning paper money and praying for something. The Taipan asked the girl what is she doing. She tell him that she was praying for their family's prosperity and the money was offerings to the gods. When asked whether the money is real, the girl looked incredulously at him and shushed, "Do I look stupid? Why should I burn hard earned real money?"


Then the Taipan understand what is money to chinese. Money is everything, prosperity is honour. Good business is pride. Everything revolve around money. A chinese would do anything, even cheat their gods for money.


So you half witted Malay deperados willing to do anything to woo chinese votes, please heed Sultan Sharafuddin's advice. Dont sacrifice what you have for what you will never have. Remember the the Pak Pandir Chronicles; Ayam Menang Kampung Tergadai. Dont disgrace yourself and your race just to be in good books of these mahjong players who are all too well verse in poker faced, double meaning, double handling, willy dilly maneuvres learned in thousands of years of trades with money as their gods. If you think you can best them in their own playing field, you can never be more cow dung brained than this.