Merdeka!!!

Tanggal 31 bulan Ogos tahun 1957 menandakan detik yang paling bersejarah bagi rakyat negara ini. Kedengaran laungan berpanjangan Merdeka! Saat yang dinanti-nantikan rakyat jelata. Malaya pada ketika itu merangkumi kaum dan agama yang berbilang. Tiada prejudis, tiada tidak kepuasan. Sebuah bangsa, sebuah negara yang baru bagaikan ciptaan Tuhan yang suci dilahirkan. Kebebasan yang tidak terhingga. Kebebasan yang tidak terhad. Harapan, visi dan cita-cita rakyat disuarakan.

Tetapi...kian hari kian menjadi. Tanggisan dan rayuan rakyat tidak dihiraukan. Kebebasan dihadkan. Hak rakyat ditindas. Apa telah terjadi. Namun bukan seburuk yang disangkal. Bukankah kita rakyat Malaysia. Bangsa Malaysia tidak kira kaum dan agama? Walau sebururk-buruk keadaan di Malaysia menjadi, aku masih berjuang demi Malaysia. Merdeka berlaungan selama-lamanya...

Emerge KL 2006

Emerge KL 2006. Radical. Exuberant. Extravagant Praise. Controversial Message.*




*Updated

"So dark is the con of men"

I blame it on Proton. A sick baby. Protectionism...sucks. I could have been driving a Volswagen Golf GTI 2.0 FSIDSG. If tariffs were muc much lower. Pak Lah promised cheaper cars. Will he make it even cheaper. A freaking Picanto cost only RM18,000 without tax. We have all been conned by the government into buying Proton. Perodua is ok. Click conned for the actual price.

Red Letters

Pages filled with a holy message
Sealed with a kiss from heaven
On a scroll long ago
Phrases, words that were bound together
Now have the power to sever
Like a sword evermore

Heed the words divinely spoken
May your restless heart be broken
Let the supernatural take hold

There is love in the red letters
There is truth in the red letters
There is hope for the hopeless
Peace and forgiveness
There is life in the red letters
In the red letters

One man came to reveal a mystery
Changing the course of history
Made the claim he was god
Ageless, born of a virgin mary
Spoke with a voice that carried through the years
Its persevered

Heed the words divinely spoken
May your restless heart be broken
Let the supernatural take hold

What you say moves me, revelation, come and take me
The more I look [the more I look] the more I see [the more I see]
The word of God [the word of god] is what I need

Oh yeah, oh yeah
Yeah, its the book of love
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Its the book of love

Speak to me, breathe in me new life
Let him in your heart

Red Letters by DC Talk

Eroding Religious Liberty

Malaysia is expecting a court ruling any day now that could shake society to its foundations: does a Muslim have the right to convert to another faith?

A Muslim by birth, Lina Joy decided to become a Christian, marry and raise a family. But in Malaysia, where Islam is the official religion, this is an affair of state, not conscience. In 1999, the National Registration Department allowed her to change the name in her identity card to Lina Joy but the ID entry for her religion remained as "Islam". Until the entry is deleted, she cannot legally marry outside the Muslim faith. The legal wrangling began when she took the department to court over the anomaly.

"The fundamental question in Lina's case is whether Muslims in this country can convert?" said political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda.

It's a tricky legal question in multiracial, multi-religious Malaysia. Ethnic Malays, who make up just over half of Malaysia's 26 million people, are deemed Muslims from birth.

"It's political dynamite. It will create instability," Abdul Razak said. "For decades, the position of Malays and Muslims have been guaranteed.

"It will open the floodgates. Now you see Malays are going to convert and the government sanctions that. Definitely there will be a huge backlash and PAS is going to town with it."

Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS), the country's biggest Islamic opposition party, agrees.

"It will be a bad precedent," PAS deputy chief Nasharuddin Mat Isa told Reuters. "It will create some uneasiness in the Malay community. It could lead to demonstrations."

But a ruling against Joy could also inflame opinion among non-Muslims, who are already aggrieved over what they see as the gradual encroachment of Islamic law into civil society.

"If they rule against Lina Joy, the whole question of religious liberty -- the freedom of conscience, choice, _expression and thought of an individual -- will be greatly affected," said Wong Kim Kong, secretary-general of the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship Malaysia, which represents about two-thirds of Malaysia's roughly 4,000 churches.

But he agreed that a court victory for Joy could spark a Muslim backlash. "This group may sow discord or even create public disorder that will result in greater polarisation of the races and religion in the country," Wong said.

For Islamic scholars, Joy cannot win.

"If Islam were to grant permission for Muslims to change religion at will, it would imply it has no dignity, no self-esteem," said Wan Azhar Wan Ahmad, senior fellow at Malaysia's Institute of Islamic Understanding.

"And people may then question its completeness, truthfulness and perfection."

Taken from Reuters. It has not been edited in anyway at all. Although these are part of the full report, it does not distort the actual report. This is what is happening in Malaysia and many Islamic and so-called-Islamic nations. An eroding religious liberty. A lost to mankind. An end to human rights. What religion is this that needs to force its "subjects"? There is no love, only perversion & partiality, untruthfulness & imperfection and distortion. Does a god need its worshippers to assure "him" of "his" dignity and self-esteem? If "he" does, then "his" worshippers must be gravely deprived of hope, esteem and dignity.

Pondering

What is this New Heaven and New Earth?
What is the New Jerusalem with walls as thick as 144 cubits?
What about the rewards in heaven awaiting those whose name is in the Book of Life?
I recognise that Christians shouldn't worry about all these and have no fear of what is to come.
At the same time I think many out there are pondering these questions.
What did John actually saw?

Some are saying the the very fabric of society is breaking.
Communities world wide are in a limbo.
There is a continuous rumour of wars and wars.
Earthquakes and suffering.
But the peace treaty with Israel remains the waiting sign.
He will come like a thief in the night.
Therefore, be prepared irregardless of the times.

Just thoughts that have been on mind lately.

Shot in the head!

Someone got shot in the head (click hyperlink).
Maybe a whole lot of people who refuse to be linked to the Jews.
They should have learned their lesson not to hate but love.
There will never be peace if this continues.
They say the nation supports them in pressuring Israel to stop attacking.
I say no, I beg to differ.
I'm not with them on this, neither am I on them with many issues.
Like it or not, they are fighting a losing battle.
Nevertheless, fight all you want.
I'm with Israel.

"Silver Airplane, take me with you!"

"KoKo, can you cook Maggi Mee for me?" Melvin asked of his brother. Melvin, an intellectually challenged boy perpetually attached to his silver airplanes lives with his brother. His brother, Ben had sacrificed for many years after their parents' demise ultimately chose to pursue silver and gold instead of flying silver airplanes with Melvin. Mabel, the love of Ben's life encouraged him to pursue the riches that the world could offer. All these were done at the expense of Melvin. Melvin does not deserve reminders of him being a little bit slower in speech and thoughts but yet he was being ladened with them. "Look at that big baby!". It is unfair to be born like him yet his actions justifies that love never fails. "KoKo, they are my friends.".Does it have to take a sudden twist of events for you to realise who actually really love you? Ben had to endure the pain of stroke. A paralysed left leg, a heart overwhelming with guilt brought Ben to his knees as if humbled by the love that Melvin showed. An unconditional love."Silver Airplane, flying high,"
"Silver Airplane, take me with you!"

Jesus, mocked and rejected by His own people. Never forgets the Fathers heart, that has and will always be for His people. A heart entangled in a crown of torns shed His blood for the salvation of the world. All because of His unconditional love for the world He created. 3 nails, 1 cross, 4given.

Silver Airplanes...love never fails

DUMC (Damansara Utama Methodist Church) is proud to present their latest production, Silver Airplanes.

Silver Airplanes – Synopsis

Two brothers dream of flying. While each has set his sights on a different cloud, their lives are entwined in an invisible formation that ultimately leads them to the same destination – home! Two brothers, two lives; two souls, two minds. Silver Airplanes is about unconditional love – something sorely lacking in our world today but yet, something which is freely available... if only we know where to look for it. This story reminds us that the meek and innocent shall indeed show the way to the simple but crucial things in life – love and acceptance. Two brothers – looking for the same thing in different places in different ways. Come join us and discover for yourself, the one thing that means “life”.

To blog or not to blog?

What does one do when one's freedom is stiffled? Well, Malaysian bloggers and cell phone users better get used to this. As the Malaysian government headed by Pak Lah has issued a warning to both technology users yesterday of the consequences of spreading untruths.

"If information in blogs, websites and online portals were incorrect, bordered on slander, caused disturbance or compelled the public to lose faith in the nation’s economic policies, their authors would be detained for investigation", said Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Compelling the public to lose faith in the nation's economic policies? What is he trying to say? I think (a thought does not constitute to untruth as it is purely an opinion) he is referring to the NEP or rather from hearsay the revised version of it. So, the NEP is controversial. It steps on everyone's tail and yet no one can shout "Pain!". Well, I have my own thoughts on it. I will not share it here. Meet me at a coffee shop or when I am drunk and I will tell you. In that case what I say would only be empty talks.

The importance of blogs and the information it contains is immeasurable. Most of us, even those who are late adoptors of IT would find it useful to disseminate information of any sort. I prefer if the government teaches the younger generation and reeducate the rest to be responsible when using the Internet and other information technologies.

"If you are working as a journalist, you are getting a professional description of an event. But if you're looking at the blogosphere, it is very personal notes and personal pictures they are showing -- the human side of any conflict," he said.

This quote was taken from CNN.com. It carried contrasting headlines compared to Malaysia's The Star. But in the end it all talked about the responsibility of a blogger. Both talked about cell phones which enable users disseminate information whether authentic or otherwise but they end up on differing views.

"Now imagine a new technology like SMS, MMS [multimedia messaging service] and the Internet. It is possible to build friendships over the borders of the countries and that is important for the future," Sundelof said.

Abdullah also said that those who sent out such information via short message system (SMS) would also be held accountable.

So, the former sounds very lofty while the latter too restrictive. What to do now? If you are an advocate of world peace continue texting and blogging to bridge the gap while half the world is battling with another half. If you are a obedient citizen then keep your mouth shut, treat your verbal or blogging diarrhea with some carbon pills and antibiotics!

ps: all information gathered from the Internet unless proven authentic should be taken with a pinch of salt. laugh over it and leave it in cyberspace. same goes to weird and hilarious text messages. there is no need to blame anyone. after all, an insecure person wil write a provocative entry in a blog against christianity and so will another insecure person rebut it.