The Malaysian Insider

NOV 15 – The arrest of former Perlis Mufti Dr Asri Zainul Abidin in the bourgeois neighbourhood of Bukit Antarabangsa has opened up another Pandora’s box in the country.

Allegations by the state religious authority Jais that Asri was “teaching Islam without certification” has been criticised by many but also defended by some in the Islamic establishments.

Generally, Malay Muslims are being taught in their religious upbringing to accept and submit without question to the teachings of their tok guru, lecturer or ustaz in madrasahs, sekolah pondok or in university lecture halls.

NOV 4 – The US foreign policy under President Barack Obama has taken a more conciliatory approach as compared to the swashbuckling style of his predecessor George Bush Jr.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has zigged-zagged around the world trying to patch up the wounded relations as a result of the previous administration’s policies with potential partners for the strategic importance of the US.

The strain that was heightened by Bush’s War on Terror in Afghanistan and Iraq has left a deep scar among many Muslims in the Middle East and the rest of the world.

OCT 2 — Just as the contentious issue of Kampung Buah Pala has more or less died down, the issue involving the Malay kampung of Tanjong Tokong is now threatening to cause another round of sleepless nights for Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, his deputy Mansor Othman and, to a certain extent, opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

The political ramification of the Kampung Buah Pala issue has been a pain in the neck for Lim and the state government as DAP and Pakatan Rakyat capitalised on the issue to good effect in the 2008 general election, attacking Barisan Nasional for not standing up for the people in facing the commercially-driven and profit-oriented developers.

SEPT 8 – Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim was given a rude awakening when the meeting that was meant to discuss the relocation of a 150-year old temple turned to chaos and almost a ruckus.

Khalid called for a residents’ meeting following the highly charged protest on the relocation of the temple made infamous by the stamping of a severed cow’s head in front of the Selangor state secretariat building.

The Selangor MB felt that he had to take matters into his own hand after experiencing first hand how the issue deteriorated turning into a very sensitive one with negative political consequences.

AUG 29 – Just days before the nation celebrates its 52nd Independence Day, the action by some mongrels who stamped and spat on a severed head of a cow in front of the Selangor State Secretariat building to protest against the planned relocation of a Hindu temple to their residential area has posed serious questions about the state of race relations in the country.

The planned relocation of the temple from Shah Alam’s Section 19 to Section 23 has drawn loud protest from a section of the local residents.

According to the protestors, the area is populated by 90% Muslims and the presence of the temple will affect their lives as Muslims.