Fatwas that could possible come in the near future!

With the whole yoga issue being somewhat banned for all Muslims in the country, i've received this forwarded email from a couple of my friends.

If it's true, this is written by a Malay guy from Shah Alam, and this is how it goes:

Makin hari umat Islam makin ditindas dan dikongkong. Bukan oleh orang Cina, atau orang India atau orang Yahudi atau orang Kristian. Tetapi dianiya dan dikongkong oleh orang Islam/Melayu sendiri. Please read on.

Selepas fatwa pengharaman yoga, fatwa-fatwa yang akan datang adalah
seperti berikut :

Disember 2008
Orang Islam dilarang mandi di kolam renang awam. Di kolam renang awam, akan terdapat orang-orang yang bukan Islam yang memakai pakaian renang yang singkat dan mendedahkan aurat (terutamanya amoi-amoi china yang cun dan seksi). Ini boleh menjejaskan akidah orang Islam. Cara yang paling baik ialah kita haramkan orang Islam dari kolam renang awam.

Januari 2009
Orang Islam dilarang pergi ke Pulau Pinang. Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang adalah seorang yang bukan Islam and majoriti penduduk Pulau Pinang adalah orang yang bukan Islam. Apabila seorang Islam berada di Pulau Pinang, beliau mungkin terhidu bau char keoy tiaw yang dimasak oleh orang bukan Islam dan ini boleh merosakkan akidah kita. Cara yang paling baik ialah kita haramkan orang Islam dari pergi ke Pulau Pinang. Orang Islam yang kini tinggal di Pulau Pinang akan diberi elaun pindah sebanyak RM 3000 untuk membantu mereka berpindah ke negeri-negeri yang lain. Perpindahan ke negeri Kelantan dan Terengganu amat amat digalakkan.

Februari 2009
Orang Islam dilarang meminum root beer. Walaupun root beer tidak mengandungi alkohol, namun perkataan "beer" ini boleh menimbulkan keghairan dan kelakuan tidak senonoh di kalangan orang Islam. Dengan pengharaman root beer, orang Islam bolehlah meminum minuman ringan yang lain tanpa was-was. Ginger beer juga diharamkan.

March 2009
Orang Islam dilarang memakan di kedai Mamak. Walaupun mamak kebanyakkannya Islam, tetapi asal usul mereka adalah India dan ada kemungkinan terdapat unsur-unsur India di dalam perniagaan mereka seperti bercakap Tamil dan memakai seluar dalam buatan India. Untuk mengelakkan sebarang syak wasangka, mulai 1 Mac 2009, orang Islam
dilarang dari memakan di kedai mamak.

April 2009
Orang Islam dilarang bermain ping pong atau table tennis. Ping pong berasal dari negeri China dan oleh yang demikian, mungkin terdapat unsur-unsur agama Buddha atau Confuciusism di dalam permainan ping pong.
Ornag Islam yang terlalu banyak bermain ping pong akan terjejas akidah mereka. Sebagai permainan alternatif, orang Islam digalakkan bermain sepak raga (tetapi bola raga mesti buatan Malaysia, bukan dari Thailand).

Mei 2009
Orang Islam yang berkerja dengan kerajaan dilarang mengambil gaji masing-masing. Ini kerana sebahagian besar pendapatan kerajaan adalah cukai pendapatan yang dibayar oleh syarikat-syarikat orang bukan Islam.
Orang Islam digalakkan meminta sedekah dari orang Islam yang lain. Untuk memudahkan permintaan sedekah, bakal peminta sedekah digalakkan mencangkung di hadapan bangunan UMNO.

Jun 2009
Orang Islam dilarang keluar negara. Terdapat terlalu banyak godaan yang boleh meruntuhkan akhlak dan akidah orang Islam. Perkara ini telahpun dikaji dengan teliti hasil lawatan sambil belajar ke Bangkok oleh Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan baru-baru ini. Oleh yang demikian, orang Islam diminta menyerahkan balik paspot masing-masing ke jabatan immigresen secepat mungkin. Perjalanan keluar negara hanya dibenarkan untuk menteri-menteri dan orang kuat UMNO sahaja, itupun hanya jika diiringi oleh ahli Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan.

Julai 2009
Orang Islam dilarang berfikir di waktu siang. Kebanyakkan masalah jenayah dan maksiat wujud kerana orang-orang yang tak ada kerja berfikir yang bukan-bukan. Untuk membenteras maslah jeneyah dan maksiat, orang-orang Islam mulai 1 Julai 2009, dilarang dari menggunakan otak mereka diwaktu siang. Pemikiran mereka akan dipantau
oleh Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan dengan menggunakan sekumpulan specially trained monkeys.
Orang Islam boleh menggunakan otak mereka di waktu malam tetapi pemikiran dihadkan kepada perkara-perkara berkaitan dengan makan dan minum sahaja.



Please do not laugh. Many of the above will become a reality if we do not do anything. The rational-thinking muslims in this country are simply not doing anything. We let a very small minority of narrow-minded idiots to control our lives. We, especially the Malay muslims, are fast becoming a laughing stock worldwide. We are obsessed with the little little things.

When there are so many important things remain to be done, why must the Fatwa folks spend their time on little things.. tomboys, yoga, etc.

Why don't we ever hear anything from the Fatwa folks for social justice, eradicating corruption and poverty, protecting single mothers, helping the poors, educating the ummah, protecting the environment or ensuring fairness in society.

If you are a rationale, forward thinking muslim, please speak up. If you choose to remain silent, it only means that you agree with whatever is happening. And do not blame the non-muslims for all our troubles. We are asking for it.

I hope i don't get detained for my own good for putting this up. It's just funny lah. And hopefully, this doesn't really come true lah.

Love & Peace!~

BC?

Penang Cultural Fest 2008 coming near you!~

Image taken from http://penangculturalfest.com/

With the city on the island awarded the Unesco World Heritage in July 7 this year, the state government, including several local and foreign corporations, NGOs, individuals, artists etc will have the Penang Cultural Fest 2008! (But with all the high-rise hotel development going on within the heritage zone, i hope we can still maintain the status!)

There will be many things going on within George Town from Dec 4 to 8, involving art exhibition, performance, street market, music, food and culture! And here are the events;

George Town : A Retrospective in the Visual Arts
What is it?: Art exhibition
Date : Dec 4-8
Time : 10am - 6pm
Venue : E&O Hotel

Goguryo Traditional Orchestra
What is it?: Concert featuring traditional Korean intruments
Date : Dec 4
Time : 8.30pm - 10.30pm
Venue : Auditorium of Dewan Sri Pinang

Penang Island Jazz Festival 2008
What is it?: Jazz music Festival
Date : Dec 4-7
Venue : Bayview Beach Hotel, Batu Ferringhi

Penang Food Hunt 2008 & Food Fest 2008
What is it?: Food/treasure hunt and food bazaar
Date : Dec 6-7
Venue : New World Park and other food venues.

Penang Cultural Nite
What is it?: Stage concert depicting cultures in Penang
Date : Dec 6
Time : 7.30pm - 11pm
Venue : Fort Cornwallis

Little Penang Street Market
What is it?: Street market
Date : 7 December
Time : 10am - 3pm
Venue : Upper Penang Road

The Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng will be launching the event on Dec 4, at E&O Hotel! Hopefully, this will be a great event lah. Do book your dates for this!~

For more details, visit http://penangculturalfest.com/

Love & Peace!~

BC?

PDA: Where's the limit?

Honestly, like i asked above... where's the limit?

Can't a couple just be lovey-dovey, holding hands and be close to each other as they're minding their own business in the midst of people? It's not they're heavily petting each other in front of everyone!

Are other people just too busybody for their own good, or just simply jealous and spiteful of others' close and secured relationship?

Sometimes, i do feel like we're fishes in a fish tank, and everyone is just looking at us to make a blunder. *sigh*

Do tell me, how does one draws the boundary of showing affection to his/her significant half without pissing others of?


"I'm caught, and everyone is looking at me." *sigh* - picture taken from Reuters


"Look at me
You can take it all because this face is free
Maybe next time use your eyes and look at me
I'm a drama queen if that's your thing baby
I can even do reality..."

Taken from Geri Halliwell's Look At Me

Love & Peace!~

BC?

Ring Ring (ver 1.2)

Yesterday, i got for my dear a ring.

Well, it's my gift to Melissa D for her birthday tomorrow, and i wanted to surprised her. But she managed to guessed it. So, me got her this ring:

Nice, eh?

Well, this promise/purity ring i gave her is from Lazo Diamond, which is made of white gold and has three diamonds... about 0.013 carat each (talk about me being cheap stake!), it has the shape with two circles, intertwined.

The ring represents my promise to her, that i'll marry her within three years, symbolised by the three minute diamonds. (Justin and Sher-Mayne, i know what you're thinking now! Thanks for the suggestion, Sher-Mayne.) And the intertwined circles symbolise two of us, being in this relationship and also the Holy Trinity.

And it also my promise and hope that the both of us will stay pure and holy, keeping each other for marriage... and enjoying each other when we get married. After all, intimacy is the reward of commitment.

Anyway, in a few minutes time, she'll turn 25 years old. Happy Blessed Birthday, Melissa D... my Sunshine!

I just feel so darn happy!


"I do cherish you
For the rest of my life
You don't have to think twice
I will love you still
From the depths of my soul
It's beyond my control
I've waited so long to say this to you
If you're asking do I love you this much
I do...."

Excerpt from 98 Degrees' I Do (Cherish You)

Love & Peace!~

BC?

Straight As!

Check out today's papers or on the tube yesterday, and you would read/watch stories on student achieving straight A's in their UPSR examinations. Many proud parents thanking teachers for their effort to raise their kids in school.

And also, the fact that many pupils answered in English and prefer the language! Hmmm... i think the federal government should listen to these future voters!

Anyway, back to the main story, I remember, more than a decade ago, when i received my results. I got 4A's (back then, before it was changed to five subjects), and i was really excited.

I was almost in tears when my teacher told me that, and i immediately called my dad over the public phone! I was really darn happy, thinking that i could then score straight As in both PMR and SPM examination.

But i was dead wrong. I got some B's in PMR and in SPM, a C as well.

It was then, i realised life is not always about achieving straight As... rather, it's giving your best, and be satisfied for what you get. It's important to try your best, in anything you do, than not to try at all.

Honestly speaking, i reap what i sow, and i'm happy with what i get. But if i ever get to get even 4A's now, i'm content with that!

Love & Peace!~

BC?

Love as a choice, not just a feeling.

This is a forwarded email Melissa D got, and i decided to put it up here on this blog. Sounds a lot like a chapter from Dr Gary Chapman's The Five Love Languages, which is an excellent read! I'm currently reading his other book, Love as a Way of Life: Seven Keys to Transforming Every Aspect of Your Life, and i expecting it to be equally as good, if not better!

Anyway, here's content of the forward:

During one of our seminars, a woman asked a common question.
She said, "How do I know if I married the right person?"
I noticed that there was a large man sitting next to her so I said,
"It depends. Is that your husband?"
In all seriousness, she answered "How do you know?"

Let me answer this question because the chances are good that it's
weighing on your mind.

Here's the answer.
EVERY relationship has a cycle. In the beginning, you fell in love with your spouse / partner. You anticipated their call, wanted their touch, and liked their
idiosyncrasies (unconventional behavior/habit).

Falling in love with your spouse wasn't hard. In fact, it was a completely natural and spontaneous experience. You didn't have to DO anything. That's why it's called
"falling" in love... Because it's happening TO YOU .

People in love sometimes say, "I was swept of my feet." Think about the imagery of that blank expression. It implies that you were just standing there; doing nothing, and then something came along and happened TO YOU.

Falling in love is easy . It's a passive and spontaneous experience. But after a few years of marriage, the euphoria (excitement) of love fades. It's the natural cycle of EVERY relationship. Slowly but surely, phone calls become a bother (if they come at all), touch is not always welcome (when it happens), and your spouse's idiosyncrasies , instead of being cute, drive you nuts.

The symptoms of this stage vary with every relationship, but if you think about your marriage, you will notice a dramatic difference between the initial stage when you were in love and a much duller or even angry subsequent stage.

At this point, you and/or your spouse might start asking, "Did I marry the right person?"

And as you and your spouse reflect on the euphoria of the love you once had, you may begin to desire that experience with someone else.. This is when marriages breakdown. People blame their spouse for their unhappiness and look outside their marriage for fulfillment.

Extramarital fulfillment comes in all shapes and sizes. Infidelity is the most obvious.

But sometimes people turn to work, a hobby, a friendship, excessive TV, or abusive substances.

But the answer to this dilemma does NOT lie outside your marriage. It lies within it.
I'm not saying that you couldn't fall in love with someone else. You could.

And TEMPORARILY you'll feel better.
But you'd be in the same situation a few years later.
Because (listen carefully to this):

THE KEY TO SUCCEEDING IN MARRIAGE IS NOT FINDING THE RIGHT PERSON;
IT'S LEARNING TO LOVE THE PERSON YOU FOUND.

SUSTAINING love is not a passive or spontaneous experience.
It'll NEVER just happen to you. You can't "find" LASTING
love.
You have to "make" it day in and day out.
That's why we have the blank expression "the labor of love."
Because it takes time, effort, and energy.
And most importantly, it takes WISDOM.
You have to know WHAT TO DO to make your marriage work.

Make no mistake about it. Love is NOT a mystery.
There are specific things you can do (with or without your spouse) to
succeed with your marriage.

Just as there are physical laws of the universe (such as gravity),
there are also laws for relationships.
Just as the right diet and exercise program makes you physically
stronger, certain habits in your relationship WILL make your marriage
stronger.
It's a direct cause and effect. If you know and apply the laws, the
results are predictable... you can "make" love.

Love in marriage is indeed a "decision"... Not just a feeling.

Remember this always:

"God determines who walks into your life. It is up to you to decide
who you let walk away, who you let stay, and who you refuse to let
go."

Have a nice day... and a great weekend ahead!

Love & Peace!~

BC?

The Rojak Series #19

"...I could sing you a tune or promise you the moon,
But if that's what it takes to hold you,
I'd just as soon let you go, but there's one thing I want you to know.
You better look before you leap, still waters run deep,
And there won't always be someone there to pull you out,
And you know what I'm talkin' about.
So smile for a while and let's be jolly:
Love shouldn't be so melancholy.
Come along and share the good times while we can.

I beg your pardon,
I never promised you a rose garden.
Along with the sunshine,
There's gotta be a little rain sometimes."

Taken from Lynn Anderson's Rose Garden

I've got a lot to blog about, but i'll write it all in short summaries lah! Let the TRS begin!

1. Black Man in The White House!

If you have not heard the news, Barack Obama is now the president of USA. Yes, the 44th president is the first African American to be president, after a long list of white men helming the post.

While many are happy with the choice Americans made, some are sceptical about him; ranging from how much he could change the future of American (and the world) to him being the harbinger of destruction.

But whatever it is, we'll wait and see. History will tell.


2. Facebook.

Yes, (I hate to admit it but) i'm officially addicted to facebook! The groups, the interaction, and the ability to tag one another on the photos are cool!

So, if you have an account, do add me. And i enjoy eating my words!


3. (Too many) Sunny Days

In the past, i complaint that there are too many raining days, which eventually led to flash floods in the area.

Nowadays, it has been really sunny and hot... good for drying clothes, bad for those constantly traveling under the sun.

Oh well, i'm now starting to appreciate the light showers every now and then. And you better watch for what you wish for, cause you just might get it!


4. Challenges and taking in Criticisms.

I believe as we grow older, there are more things in life we'll face and it'll be indeed challenging. Be it work or relationships, life isn't easy. But how we look at life, with the glass half full or negatively, is important. But at the same time, i believe we need to depend on God.

God do bring us through trials, not because He hates us or enjoy seeing people suffer, but to build our character and faith in Him.

And when we're given constructive criticisms, i believe we should take it in good faith, and learn to improve ourselves. It may be sharp and painful, but if we take time to reflect upon it, it could actually help us see who we really are through the eyes of others. And perhaps, change is indeed good for ourselves (and others).

I remember hearing this song in "The Pursuit of Happyness", where those in the church were singing, "Lord, don't move the mountain away, but give me the strength to overcome it."

That's my prayer.


6. The present... is now.

Just check this out. Very, very insightful.


Have a great weekend!~

Love & Peace!~

BC?