It is ironic to admit that I am prouder to be Malaysian while studying in Manchester than back home in beautiful Pulau Pinang. Growing up in front of Astro Ceria, running along lorong’s carefreely, queueing up by the milo truck drenched in sweat, I took the Malaysian part of me for granted.
It’s odd how what other people see as a waste of time is insightful for me and has changed my perspective on things. Whether it be bickering couples or day-to-day lives, as usual, your girl loves listing, and today’s list will be in the form of the things I have learned from one of my go-to series, One Day At A Time.
Malaysia has been and is able to produce great actors and actresses, but great actors and actresses need great scripts to support their skills. Under the current highly-restricted content-creating environment via various laws such as the Film Censorship Act and the Communications and Multimedia Act, it is hard for directors and scriptwriters to produce works with unconstrained style. One of the reasons why Asian films find it difficult to surpass Hollywood films in terms of global box office performance is the relatively restricted genres of content that can be legally and safely produced. In Malaysia, issues about race, religion, gender identity, and politics have always been untouchable taboos. Whoever touches it, even while meaning well, will be deemed insensitive and face various legal and ethical controversies. As an industry that values freedom, it is not irrational for filmmakers to leave Malaysia and seek a freer market overseas.
As an international student studying abroad, you often try to prepare as much as possible to get adjusted to the new environment. From classic university horror stories to advice from friends and relatives, preparation seems smooth until the actual experience kicks in. More often than not, you find yourself having to adapt to different situations on the fly that no amount of advice or preparation could save you from. This is the steep learning curve that everyone goes through when we become more independent. Having to rely on ourselves most of the time is especially true for international students studying abroad, as all forms of physical chains that confine us to our zone of comfort have been released. Once the dust has settled, the endless days of studying and preparing for exams begin. Between the hassle of improving our grades and balancing priorities in our life, we realise that we are alone most of the time with no one to rely on.
An oft-cited defence of Muslims against Islamophobes and critics of the religion is that what those on the fringes of the religious practice and preach is not what Islam stands for. In addition to a gap between theory and practice, there is also a gap between the mortal and the divine. Islam is a perfect divine religion, but those practising it are imperfect mortal men. This imperfection manifests itself in many ways. Some are as innocent as in the way Muslims pray (notice how some schools (madhhab) hold the hands over their bellies whilst others don’t?).1 Some as far as whether women are sui juris in terms of marriage.2 And there are even ones that go as far as differences in basic theological principles. For instance, on whether people have free will as it relates to predestination (Qada’ and Qadr).3 The core idea here is that these differences in opinion epitomise the problem of human interpretation of the divine – that they are fundamentally imperfect.
I have seen a loved one carrying a misdiagnosis for nearly a decade, an acquaintance prescribed medication for adenomyosis after countless doctors, and millions of women retelling the same stories differently. Women constitute half of the global population and yet, gender bias runs rampant in healthcare.
Democracy is not a foreign concept in the 21st century. Reigning champion as most countries’ governing system, democracy seems to ride on the notion of equality. At the same time, it doesn’t really seem to represent each and every individual equally. We could look back on the origin of democracy itself, in ancient Greek, where only males could participate in it. Centuries later, even though certain circumstances have improved, most women are still sidelined in politics. We’ve heard of campaigns for more women’s representation and participation in politics, but why does it truly matter? Why would having more girl bosses in the political arena be important in Malaysia?
Climate change is widely accepted as an issue, but it is not always intuitive. How is a substance as invisible and harmless as Carbon Dioxide (CO2) able to wreak havoc on earth at a scale being claimed – after all, is CO2 not what we naturally produce when we breathe, and what fuels the existence of the beautiful greeneries of the earth? If the reports from a few months ago claim that we are headed towards some of the hottest heatwaves Britain has seen, how, then, are we experiencing one of the coldest winters in recent years? Yet, climate change is an issue that has been well-understood by the scientific community for decades; it is the nuances that are difficult to communicate. These nuances are often lost in headline statements such as ‘keeping 1.5 ˚C within reach’ or ‘reach net-zero by 2050,’ fuelling much scepticism, or rather a lack of urgency, among the public. This article aims to inform the reader of the key concepts underpinning climate change science and clarify common misconceptions.
Ever since civilisations started establishing themselves on the planet, inequality, a phenomenon of unequal distributions of wealth, could be seen manifesting within these societies. In the early stages of civilisation, it is seen as who had more land, more livestock, and more of something, as it indicates that they had more “assets” than the other. However, these “assets” were not quantifiable as economic systems were not developed enough to quantify the value of these goods. As such, it was challenging to measure inequality.
A couple of months back, I drove to the Royal Lake Club at the heart of metropolitan Kuala Lumpur. As I stepped out of my car, I checked my pockets for my cigarette case containing my beloved Sampoerna. I lit the cigarette as I was early for my meeting with a Minister from Bersatu. Less than 400 metres west is Dataran Merdeka; many battles have been fought there. 1998 witnessed seas of Malaysians square up against the Federal Reserve Unit as they rallied in the name of ‘Reformasi’. In the late 2000s, Malaysians took to the street again to demand free and fair elections, ‘Bersih!’, they cried as the surroundings were blurred with tear gas and showers of the FRU’s chemical-induced water cannon. Cries of ‘Kleptocracy’ filled Dataran Merdeka in 2015.
DYNAC
Dynac Sdn. Bhd., is a company that offers products & services from oil and gas, chemical refinery, rig building industry and telecommunication. For many years, it has served the industry with dedication, winning projects especially in the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) industry. As a company that competes for major projects, it has to ensure that the construction work meets all the specifications and this is certainly a task that is taken seriously by Dynac.