Allah is the standard Arabic word for God. While the term is best known in the West for its use by Muslims as a reference to God, it is used by Arabic-speakers of all Abrahamic faiths, including Christians and Jews, in reference to “God”. The term was also used by pagan Meccans as a reference to the creator-god, possibly the supreme deity in pre-Islamic Arabia.

The concepts associated with the term Allah (as a deity) differ among the traditions. In pre-Islamic Arabia amongst pagan Arabs, Allah was not considered the sole divinity, having associates and companions, sons and daughters – a concept which Islam thoroughly and resolutely abrogated. In Islam, the name Allah is the supreme and all comprehensive divine name. All other divine names are believed to refer back to Allah. Allah is unique, the only Deity, creator of the universe and omnipotent. Arab Christians today use terms such as Allah al-’Ab (“God the Father”) to distinguish their usage from Muslim usage. There are both similarities and differences between the concept of God as portrayed in the Qur’an and the Hebrew Bible.

It is true the name Allah predates Islam? The popular view is that Islam is exclusively associated with the revelation of Prophet Muhammad SAW roughly 1431 years ago. Among the core teaching of Prophet Muhammad PBUH however involved believing Islam as the continuation to the religion of Isa PBUH (Jesus), Musa PBUH (Moses), Ibrahim PBUH (Abraham), and going all the way back to Adam PBUH, the first human on earth. As Islam views it, to say something predates Islam would literally means to predate all humanity.

In relation to the usage of the word Allah in Malaysia Roman Catholic publication, it is very important to get the facts straight.

1. Regionally, Christianity had only flourished in Borneo long after Islam has established itself, with Christian missionaries actively converting pagan tribes in Sabah and Sarawak during the Rajah Brooke era.

2. The calling of god as Allah in local Christian teachings got nothing to do with Arabia pagan god, the Christian term for god was purposely localized to imitate the name of existing native god, the god of the majority, which is the god of Muslims. Furthermore not one Orthodox Coptic Arab Christian Missionary ever laid foot on Malaysia soil to justify calling god as Allah. All missionaries were from England and other European countries.

To be technical one can says the name Allah predates Prophet Muhammad PBUH, but at the same time, the same name was also non existence in any Roman Catholic Bibles produced in the country(s) where all the Christian missionaries had came from. The local Muslims reservation on this issue is not entirely baseless.

It is important to know exactly where both side stand on this matter. Its common for Muslims to back the Islam side, and Christians backing the Roman Catholic side. However, to have another large group of Muslim unopposing the Christian view on this matter is something worth sinking our mind into.

According to Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, the spiritual leader for Parti Islam Malaysia (PAS) cum Chief Minister to the state of Kelantan, a key figure in the opposition coalition, Islam is a blessing to the universe, that translates into Islam is for all (Arabic; “Rahmatan Lil-Aalamin”). The one god in Islam is also the universal god of all religions. Other religion should be welcomed to call their god by Islam name.

Technorati Tags: Borneo, Christian, Islam, Kelantan, Kuala Lumpur, Malay, Malaysia, Malaysia Insider, Malaysian, Muslim, Roman Catholic, Sabah, Sarawak

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List of Pakatan Rakyat's missing MPs during 2010 Budget voting session

After 26 days debating Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak 2010 Budget, some of the Pakatan Rakyat MPs decided it were not that important to stay and vote. Suprisingly majority of the names that are missing in action are those of ‘celebrity’ status and even so few of the big shots themselves. One from DAP got barred from entering the Dewan Rakyat and one of ‘PAS’ is not really so. Five from DAP are all from Penang.

Words on the street has it that the mob is seeking answers and apologies from those responsibled.

Percentage of missing Pakatan Rakyat's MPs according to party

This is what Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz has to say, “the Opposition attempts to thwart parliament approval for 2010 Budget last night was known earlier to Barisan Nasional (BN)”.

He said he told BN Members of Parliament to remain in the Dewan Rakyat during the Third Reading knowing the opposition will use the voting process to thwart the passing of the Dato’ Seri Najib’s 2010 ‘1Malaysia Prosperity for All’ Budget.

He said this at the Parliament lobby when commenting the Third Reading for 2010 Budget that was narrowly approved by a majority of three votes with 66 in favor from BN and 63 against it from the Pakatan rakyat.

Technorati Tags: 2010 Budget, DAP, Malaysia, Malaysia Deals, Malaysia Insider, Malaysian, MPs, PAS, PKR

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The last time Malaysia has won was in 1989 in Kuala Lumpur SEA Games after defeating Singapore 1-0 at Merdeka Stadium. Malaysia went to final last night after winning the semi final against Thailand 2-1. Singapore successfully ranked no. 3 after defeating Laos 3-1.

Well done and congratulations to the All Under 23 ‘Harimau Malaya’ squad and coach K. Rajagopal for successfully make Malaysia proud!

The ‘winning’ came courtesy of an own goal by Vietnam’s Mai Xuan Hop’s in the 84th minute of a toughly-fought final. Match remained intense until the end of 6 mins extra time when many experimental thrill of Vietnam to score goals were successfully being thwarted or deviated on their own.

Harimau Malaya squad successful bid for gold began with 11-0 win against Timor Leste, 1-3 lost to Vietnam, 4-0 win against Cambodia and then beating Thailand 2-1.

The football gold medal was also Malaysia’s 40th gold medal in the 25th. SEA Games, Vientiane, Laos. The victory was all the more sweeter as the Malaysians had lost 1-3 to Vietnam in a group match on Dec 6.

Technorati Tags: Harimau Malaya, Laos, Laos SEA Games 2009, Malaysia, Malaysia Insider, Malaysia News, Malaysian Football, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste

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PM Dato' Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak tabling the 2010 "1Malaysia Prosperity for All" Budget

Yesterday 15th. Dec 2009, however, something out of the ordinary again happened. This time, the prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s debut Budget 2010 dubbed “1Malaysia prosperity for all” budget has almost been turned down by the Parliament when it barely obtained by a 66-63 vote margin at the third reading of the Dewan Rakyat. That’s 48 percent attendance for the BN MPs and a 77 percent attendance rate for the Pakatan reps.

It is reported that it is the first time that the national budget was approved with such a narrow margin, when a rejection would have a clear negative impact on the Barisan Nasional government. The parliamentary democracy practices deem a budget rejected as equivalent ot a successful non-confidence vote toward a government and indirectly opens the way to the formation of a new government. Before the critical Third Reading, the budget was approved with only one vote in committee-debate at the stage of the Home Ministry – which has been the last ministry to have its allocation approved.

No used crying over spilled milk now. Undoubtly this is already a blow to the face to Barisan Nasional, but should the opposition had managed to make use the once in a lifetime opportunity, the probable outcome would be phenomenal. The question now is where are the other 19 of Pakatan Rakyat’s MPs?

Technorati Tags: 1Malaysia, 2010 Budget, Dato' Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak, government, Malaysia, Malaysia Insider, Malaysia News, parliament, politic, Prime Minister of Malaysia

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Baby orangutans spend more time being reared by their mothers than any other mammal except humans.

Orangutans: The Red Apes

Orang = man
hutan = forest
Orangutan = man of the forest

The word orangutan translates literally as “man of the forest,” from the Malay and Indonesian words orang and hutan.

Orangutans, sometimes called “red apes,” are highly intelligent primates with advanced reasoning and thinking skills. They are tool-using creatures — they poke branches into termite holes, use chewed-up leaves as sponges to soak up water, and use branches or sticks to test the depth of the water before entering it.

Though large, orangutans are usually gentle, and spend most of their lives up in trees, where they’re safe from predators. They bear amazing similarities to humans: baby orangutans cry, whimper, and smile just like human babies, and their facial expressions indicate happiness, fear, anger, surprise, and other emotions. Orangutans and humans share approximately 97 percent the same DNA. Baby orangutans are cared for by their mothers longer than other mammals except humans.

Orangutans typically have long, shaggy reddish brown hair and a heavy body. They have long, strong arms well-suited for life in the trees, and hand-life feet, which aid in their climbing.

In ancient times, orangutans ranged throughout most of Asia. But today, as a result of human encroachment on their jungles, orangutan populations are found only in Borneo and Sumatra, the only areas with large enough forests to sustain a breeding population of these intelligent, gentle creatures.

The precise population of remainining orangutans is unknown, but experts estimate that the number of orangs in Sumatra is about half of what it was in 1993.

Orangutan Facts

• Size of Orangutans;
  Males: about 4 1/2 feet tall and 200 to 250 lbs.
  Females: About 3 1/2 feet tall and 100-150 lbs.
• Orangutan Lifespan:
  Orangutans live to about 35 to 40 years of age in the wild, and into their 50s in captivity.
• Orangutan Babies:
  Female orangutans bear one baby at a time, like humans, about every 6 to 7 years. The female reaches sexual maturity at around 7 years, and can remain fertile for up to 30 years.
• Social Culture:
  Adult female orangutans live with their young, while adult males live alone.
• Diet:
  Orangutan diets consist largely of fruits and nuts, coarse vegetation, insects, small vertebrates, tree bark, and eggs.

This original article about Orangutan can be found www.orangutanisland.org, all right reserved.

Technorati Tags: Indonesia, Malaysia, Malaysia Deals, Malaysia Insider, Malaysia News, Malaysia Travel, Orangutan, wildlife

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If you want to know if someone is a good person or not, ask his neighbor. If you asked anyone closed to him/her like friends or with family ties, most probably they will tell only the good things. In modern days, neighbor are liked watchdog, they looked at you for your lackings, whatever might be your wrongdoings as their eyes hawked over for your dirty laundry. Neighbors supposedly talked about each others, good or bad, undiscriminately, usually behind your back.

So they say.

Bordering with Malaysia are Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, the Philippines and Indonesia . These are Malaysia’s most immediate neighbors.

In not so old days, Singapore used to be just a district in Johore, one of Malaysia’s 13 states. Recently Malaysia has lost the Pedra Blanca or Pulau Batu Putih to Singapore in the International Court of Justice. The general Malaysian public was furious for losing a piece of land to a runaway island.

3 southernmost states in Thailand; Narathiwat, Yala, Pattani used to be part of ancient Hindu Malay kingdom Langkasuka, together with Kelantan, Perlis and Kedah of Malaysia’s northernmost. These 3 states, mainly consist from Malay muslim population, are now in turmoil with capital Bangkok over Muslim separatist movement.

The region of present-day Sabah was part of the Sultanate of Brunei around the early 16th century. The present-day Brunei is tiny compared to its glory days. Recently Brunei has officially dropped its long-standing territorial claim over Limbang, a northern division in Sarawak, ending the long-standing Malaysia-Brunei boundary issues.

The Philippines has dormant claim over Sabah as part of the Sultan of Sulu’s sovereignty, once a prize for helping the Sultan of Brunei against his enemies.

Indonesia has the most dispute with Malaysia. Historically parts of Malaysia used to be Indonesia and vice versa, depending on which period of civilization you looked at. Most favored by the Indonesian is the Majapahit era whilst most favored by Malaysian would probably be during the Malay Sultanate of Malacca. However, major parts of both countries were once united under the ancient Buddhist Malay Kingdom of Srivijaya on the island of Sumatra. Dispute between Malaysia and Indonesia nowadays mainly involved territorial claims and border related issues. Recently Indonesia has lost Sipadan and Ligitan island to Malaysia in the International Court of Justice, causing Malaysia’s subsequent claim over Ambalat. This and with other matters has caused the Indonesian public rewaging a ‘Ganyang Malaysia’ (destroy Malaysia) sentiment, once waged by the late President Sukarno over the inclusion of Sabah and Sarawak and formation of Malaysia in 1963 . As of today, the Malaysia map is following what was once determined by the Bristish, as Indonesia’s by the Dutch.

So basically we are screwed and mainly surrounded with enemies as neighbors. In that case, should you wanting to know about Malaysia, check your sources, its better if you read it from us first hand.

Technorati Tags: Ambalat, Brunei, history, Indonesia, International Court of Justice, Malaysia, Malaysia Deals, Malaysia Insider, Malaysia News, Narathiwat, Pattani, Pedra Blanca, Pulau Batu Putih, Singapore, Thailand, Yala

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For the Muslims worldwide, the true significance of Aidil-adha is to commemorate the historical event when God had asked Prophet Abraham to sacrifice his son Ismael to test his obedience and thanks to his unquestionable willingness to carry out His command, God had later changed the sacrifice for a cow. Since then cow have been very popular in Muslim’s diet, and for the next few days after coming Friday, it would means excessive intake of red meat, usually cooked and eaten with rice, barbequed or made into Satays or other local delicacies.

A communal effort to bring down a cow for Aidil-adha. Image courtesy of aurisshaira89.blogspot.com. All rights reserved

Family members, relatives, neighbors, friends and complete strangers would gather, sometimes through a middle man to jointly sacrifice an animal. In Islam, an animal sacrifice is allowed to be divided into 7 parts (currently one part cost around RM360-400) as to cater for the financially disable. Those with lot of money can sometimes sacrifice a whole cow, if not 2 or 3.

Animal to be sacrificed must first be selected from a good and healthy breed with no deformity and be slaughtered in the name of Allah. One of the interesting Malay’s myth during Hari Raya Korban is that the person slaughtering the animal somehow decide whether it will be meatier or fattier depending on his skill.

Usually it would take a joint effort of 7-15 persons to process the slaughtered animal and is carried out voluntarily based on communal spirit . It is not a secret however that volunteers do have certain priveleges, access to rare parts for special delicacies like the head, testicles, tail, digestion system and other internal organs.  The sacrificial meats are then distributed to neighbors and relatives or prepared for feasting.

There are also politicians using the government money for a larger scale of sacrifice, not uncommon to have between 20 to 30 animal at one go, sometimes with 2-3 exclusive sacrifices with imported camels from Australia or the Middle East. In Islam, it is said that the ‘accepted’ animal sacrifice would help individuals in their far and long journey in the Day After, but since the politicians have their sacrifice at the expense of goverment money, it would be uncertain who would really benefit from the sacrifice, except maybe to fill in empty stomachs.

Only animal that can be eaten can be sacrificed, but not all of them. Apart from cows and camels, other domestic animals such as goats and sheeps can also be sacrificed. Chicken for one is not a sacrificial animal. Horse sacrifice is unheard of. In Malaysia, it is commonly cows.

Sometimes a small function is organized, to gather relatives and friends for a quick congregation. Foods (using the sacrifed animals as main ingredient) and drinks are served to those invited. Animal sacrifice is strict muslims affair only, but Aidil-adha is widely celebrated through-out Malaysia. Ironic? This would simply means that in particular to the sacrificial meat, where it can only be consumed by Muslims, another non-sacrificial meat would have to be prepared separately to serve for the non-muslims. (For a Muslim, a sacrificed animals are supposedly to be treated with respect, even their bones and other wastages are not allowed to be thrown away or eaten by scavengers and have to be buried in the ground afterward, and oh yes, not to be eaten by the infidels, sorry!).

It is more ironic that to the other 3-5% of Malaysia population (the Indian Hindus), cow are a revered and sacred animal. But Aidil-adha is not about being offensive to other religion. The Muslims too believed cows and other domestic animals as sacred, and these are the only animals that can assist in easing the burden of the far and long journey in the Judgement Day. In Malaysia, diversity and religious tolerance have faced the test of time and have proven that different cultures can co-exist with peace and harmony. On the other hand, it would be rather hard and unpractical to ask for a sacrificed animal should Islam being selective and had specified for exotic animals like Pandas, Orangutans, Bengal White Tigers or Alaskan penguins.

Religion aside, Aidiladha would mean another holiday to include into the country’s long list of holidays and breaks.

Technorati Tags: Aidil-adha, animal sacrifice, Eid al-Adha, Malaysia, Malaysia Deals, Malaysia Insider, Malaysia News, Malaysia Travel, Malaysian, Muslim festive

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It was all shame to Kelantan, being defeated by a big gap is bearable, but to have all hell broke loose after the third goal was just too much. The game itself is nothing in particular, the true feat is the presence of an extraordinary number of Kelantan fans, the Red Warriors, almost at 75:25 ratio against Negeri Sembilan’s. An estimation of 75,000 of Kelantan supporters flocked National Bukit Jalil Stadium as early as 3.00 pm ( the game itself only started about 6 hours later). Some even congregated since early morning to create sporadic pockets of red spreading around the stadium. Those that turned out early probably had traveled a night before from hometown Kelantan about 500km away from Kuala Lumpur.

When it comes to soccer, Kelantanese fans are notoriously known for their unrestrained behavior, usually when their team is losing the game. Among many races in Malaysia, the Kelantanese (96% of Malay origin) stand out from the crowd with their own exclusive Malay dialect that has evolved far from the language standard pronunciation. In general, Kelantanese are connected by strong sense of solidarity. This is not inclusive of just Kelantan’s Malay, the Chinese and Indian living in rural Kelantan are affected as well. It is not uncommon for Chinese or Indian in Kelantan to have Malay call name, and they speak fluently in local Kelantan dialect, sometimes undistinguishable with other Malay.

Back to Malaysian soccer, Kelantan FC has faced it worst lost yet; for losing the game, for being the sore loser, and for definitely to be fined by Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). The already financially difficult team is about to hit rock bottom.

Kudos to Negeri Sembilan team, for a good gameplay and for being a momma’s boy crowd.

Technorati Tags: Kelantan, Malaysia, Malaysia Cup 2009, Malaysia Deals, Malaysia Insider, Malaysia News, Malaysia Travel, Malaysian, Malaysian Football, National Sport, Negeri Sembilan

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The coming match between Kelantan and Negeri Sembilan on 7th. November at National Stadium Bukit Jalil will decide which team shall be the next champion of Malaysian Cup 2009. Kelantan FC managed to get through to the final with an easy win 3-1 over Perlis, while Negeri Sembilan also with 3-1 over Terengganu. Top scorers Zaquan Adha Abdul Razak (10 goals) is on Negeri Sembilan side and Indra Putra Mahayuddin (9 goals) is on Kelantan’s.

Tickets already on sale since yesterday and are running out fast. Fans and supporters of both teams are now making all the preparation for the big game. Bukit Jalil will surely be crowded with Red and Yellow jerseys this coming Saturday.

All Malaysian are advised to take precautions during this game to avoid use of violence againsts supporters of each team. Throw away all the bad habits as shown in the previous games such as throwing objects to the players, the field, the opposition side and their mean of transportations. Strictly say no to the fire crackers. Full mineral water bottles travelling at 40 km/h can seriously damage your head after a direct hit.

Let us shake our National Bukit Jalil Stadium with truest sense of sportsmanship and be a good supporter.
On the other side, bad news for Kelantan fans. Quoted from www.stadiumastro.com;

“Kelantan maybe in the finals of this year’s Malaysia Cup, and that match could be the side’s last competitive match for a year.

Four other state sides including Perak, Pahang, Penang and Malacca are also out together with club side Shahzan Muda. UPB-MyTeam and Proton FC who have indicated earlier that they will be forced to pullout due to financial constraints, will miss next season M-League. Sarawak, who initially looked like they will miss out were given a helping hand by the Sarawak state government who have settled all their outstanding debts.

The FA of Malaysia had given all team’s in the M-League until Oct 31 to settle all outstanding debts such as unsettled Employers Provident Fund (EPF) contributions, players salaries and oustanding income tax payments.”

Technorati Tags: Kelantan, Malaysia Cup 2009, Malaysia Deals, Malaysia Insider, Malaysia News, Malaysia Travel, Malaysian, Malaysian Football, National Sport, Negeri Sembilan

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We Malaysian pride ourself for being special. We are people of many identities, many differences while having many similarities. As hippy as it may sound, I like to call us Malaysian as rainbow people. We are multicolored (although usually tend to be yellow) and multi-cultured. They government medias always played that Malaysian are mainly from 3 major races, in particular Malay, Chinese and Indian. Personally I beg to differ, to segment too simply is an understatement. Malaysia and Malaysian are too wonderful to be left in such a way, as I said before we are rainbow people.

Sometimes things are more than meet the eyes. Anything is possible in the Bolehland.

If you happened to be a foreigner and never set your foot in Malaysia, I can guarantee you that Malaysia is an amazing place. Almost all races in the world can be found here, usually come in complete package with all their shame and glory, conflicting between one another. It is so amazing and wonderful how distinguished people can be, sometimes one wonder how Malaysia can survive all this while, being the way she is.

This blog will shine your life with colorful stories of Malaysian, the good, the bad and the ugly from all walks of life. The Naked-Malaysian takes on the world and himself.

Technorati Tags: Malaysia, Malaysia Deals, Malaysia Insider, Malaysia News, Malaysia Travel, Malaysian, Orangutan

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