The Malaysian Insider

MARCH 10 — Reading “Let These Women Pray” made me wonder: has ‘Islamic feminism’ come to this?

I am not unsympathetic to these women’s demands for a bigger and more comfortable place to pray.

A Malaysian acquaintance, who is very familiar with the mosque mentioned in the article, conceded that the room was small and stuffy.

FEB 24 — When I visit my parents, my father and I will watch UFO documentaries together on the History Channel. My family has a love for the esoteric and history, and when it comes to UFOs, the Bermuda Triangle et al, the Zaman family is an avid and attentive audience.

One Thursday before the New Year, my nephew asked Abah, “Papa Ki, why aliens never come to Malaysia one?”

To which my father, Abah, bolted upright in his chair to pontificate, “Bak gape alien UFO nok maghi this basket country?!  (These days, everything is basket to my dad). What do we have to offer the aliens? Corruption! Murder! Malays fighting with each other! Racism! Alien tembor laghi kalau sampai Malaysia!”

My nephew to me: “Nana. What is Papa Ki talking about lah?!”

It is almost March. I am already exhausted, and am trying to find some humour in my daily life.

FEB 9 — It is unfortunate that in the last years of his life, all that Tunku Abdul Rahman stood for lived only in textbooks, history journals and other literature. And, of course, that statue outside Parliament House.

His contributions to the country were only remembered during official functions, and in the speeches of statesmen and politicians. Most Malaysians will know of Tunku as The Father of Independence for Malaya and later one of the architects of the formation of Malaysia together with Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore.

They remember him when they study history and to pass exams, and from time to time, in National Day features published in the media, they glimpse at a life long gone, of a Malaya which had dancing girls, shots of whisky and gentleman politics. They see leaders who had one mission: to make this country realise its great potential.

JAN 27 — The kids have been really receptive to the Book Project. Every week, plus minus 15 of them, all would come to the workshops facilitated by Nursalam and volunteers like Sheng, Yana and myself. The Book Project is going to be written by the Nursalam kids, and photographs illustrating the book will be taken by them too. Sheng and his fashion industry friends have been very supportive: they donated about 50 disposable cameras for the kids to use.

JAN 13 — Recently, an article written by Nadine al-Bedair My Four Husbands and I created a furor among  the Saudi conservatives. The said essay was picked up by the English media, though it hardly mustered a mention in Malaysia.

Reading it, I thought Khaled Diab’s analysis of al Bedair’s prose as honest, practical and that Bedair put forth her arguments wittily.