Jumaat, 24 Jun 2011

The Malaysian Insider :: Food

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The Malaysian Insider :: Food

Seafood surprise in a little ‘village’

Posted: 24 Jun 2011 05:56 PM PDT

This is no ordinary chicken soup... absolutely delicious.

KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 — It was amazing that no one got lost although for most of us it was our first time going to SKH Riverview Seafood Village. Located off the beaten track in Kuala Ampang, Hulu Kelang, it sits on a big piece of land near a residential area, and conveys a "village" ambience. There's a green patch at the side with a landscape stone feature and a small waterfall.

But wine glasses and an ice bucket are whipped out the minute you bring in a bottle of wine. Our dinner had been pre-ordered by our friend Jo, a regular at the restaurant.

The luscious wantan which you are supposed to eat with the chicken soup.

A well-cooked soup is always a good beginning to dinner. At Riverview, it was the Kei Wor Chi Kuan Tong or Chicken in Shark Cartilage Soup that got me hooked.

It had been slow cooked with Chinese ham and cabbage for 4½ hours. There's a whole kampung chicken in it, and it reminds me of a similar soup I had enjoyed in Xiamen, South China, many years ago.

A large dish of wantan, each filled with chopped waterchestnut, prawns, carrots, wood ear fungus and minced pork, was served with this soup. The slithery smooth wantan burst with flavour with each bite in the subtly sweet soup. I had seconds and the soup tasted even better. I would have been quite happy with just this soup, the chicken, the wantan and some noodles.

Aromatic spare ribs that come with a delicious chilli lime dip.

But we went on to the Suen Heong Yat Chee Kuat or aromatic spareribs, which had been marinated with garlic, onion and ginger for two days before being deep fried. The rib had crispy bits of garlic clinging to it and a chilli, lime and ginger dip gives a tart, hot lift to the juicy meat.

The Pomfret in Two Styles is only available on an advance order. It's an old-fashioned dish — the deepfried, crispy bones are coated with sweet and sour sauce with sesame seeds; the fish fillets are stirfried with celery, lotus root, mushrooms, baby corn, black fungus and chilli.

Fried Prawn with Superior Soya Sauce demands skill in cooking. I can think of a Chinese restaurant in Ipoh (Mun Choong) that does this superbly. The Riverview version was sufficiently sticky sweet, with the inviting aroma of the sauce emanating from the prawn.

Pomfret in two styles; deepfried crispy bones and fillets stir fried with assorted vegetables.

The Fried Noodles with Crabmeat were about springy yee meen fried in a dry style, with chunks of fresh, sweet crab on it. I would have appreciated this more if I had not had such rich and generous portions of food before this.

I would definitely come back for the soup, which I found out is RM98 a pot, enough for 10 people. Another dish worth taking note of is the Bungalow Kampung Chicken (a free range one that has the run of a hill slope in Cheras), steamed with chopped garlic. It retains its intrinsic sweet chicken flavour, and is smooth and tender, says Desmond Soo, one of the owners of the restaurant.

Try also the Steamed Red Garoupa HK Style with tofu and black fungus or the Salted Fish with Pork Belly Steamed Fish. There's even a fish that combines Teochew with Thai cooking styles — steamed and fried, and turns out hot and sour.

You'll love this fried noodles with crabmeat.

Desmond also recommends his Steamed Prawns with chicken fat and Chinese wine and Salted Egg Prawns. "We also do a Smoked Duck that's good enough to pair with red wine."

Apart from the chicken soup, there is the intriguing Herbal Pig's Stomach Duck Soup and the Herbal Peppercorn Yam Fish Soup, and if you want a dish that gives you sweet, sour, bitter and hot flavours, go for the Stirfried Bittergourd with salted vegetables, pork belly and fish.

Desserts like glutinous rice balls with black sesame in almond cream and Mango Pomelo with Sago have to be ordered in advance or you will get only Kwai Leng Ko which has all the requisite herbal flavours.

• SKH Riverview Seafood Village is located at 6 & 8 Lorong Embun 2, Kuala Ampang, Hulu Kelang, 68000 Ampang, Selangor (Tel: 016-683-111, 012-931-8566, 03-4252-3166). Call for directions or check out a Google map. It is closed on Mondays.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

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The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

Inter appoint Gasperini as coach

Posted: 24 Jun 2011 08:48 AM PDT

[unable to retrieve full-text content]MILAN, June 24 — Former Genoa boss Gian Piero Gasperini was named as Inter Milan’s fourth coach in just over a year on Friday following Leonardo’s shock decision to step down at the fallen giants. Gasperini, sacked by mid-table Genoa in November after a shaky start to the season, was not Inter’s first choice after a number of names including ...

Brazil behind with preparation for World Cup

Posted: 24 Jun 2011 06:31 AM PDT

[unable to retrieve full-text content]MOSCOW, June 24 — Brazil has fallen behind with its preparations for the 2014 World Cup and faces a battle to build new stadiums, airports and transport links in time for the event, Fifa Secretary General Jerome Valcke said today. “I won’t say that Brazil started too late (but) we are not advanced in Brazil,” he told an audience in Russia, which ...

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The Malaysian Insider :: Features

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It was 30 years ago? You cannot be serious!

Posted: 23 Jun 2011 05:48 PM PDT

[unable to retrieve full-text content]LONDON, June 24 — It was 30 years ago this week when John McEnroe uttered what has become the most immortal phrase in tennis, if not all sport, when he screamed “you cannot be serious” at a Wimbledon umpire while disputing a line call. For players brought up in an era of Hawkeye electronic detection devices, when line-call challenges are enshrined ...

Bewitching ritual to walk down the aisle

Posted: 23 Jun 2011 03:51 PM PDT

[unable to retrieve full-text content]BUCHAREST, June 24 — Gypsy fortune teller Maria Campina burns a broom during a ritual “Sanziene” night ceremony on a lake shore on the outskirts of Bucharest, June 23, 2011. According to ancient Romanian beliefs, a gate to the ghost world opens and the future can be foreseen during the “Sanziene” night, when the wishes of single girls to get ...

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The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

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The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

Transformers’ premiere to be held in Moscow

Posted: 24 Jun 2011 01:45 AM PDT

[unable to retrieve full-text content]MOSCOW, June 24 — Russian film-goers will be the first to see the third sequel of the Transformers saga, which premieres in Moscow yesterday, as Hollywood increasingly turns its attention to audiences in emerging markets. Stars from the US$200-million (RM606 million), 3D blockbuster “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” will grace the red carpet at the ...

Rapper Missy Elliott says she has thyroid disease

Posted: 23 Jun 2011 11:46 PM PDT

[unable to retrieve full-text content]LOS ANGELES, June 24 — Rap star Missy Elliott says she has Graves disease, a thyroid problem that caused her hair to fall out and shut down her nervous system. But the condition is rarely life-threatening, and the 39-year-old Grammy winner is exercising regularly under medical supervision. “My nervous system shut down, you know,” Elliott (picture) ...

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The Malaysian Insider :: Bahasa

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MP PKR tunjuk ‘dokumentari’ video seks buktikan Anwar bersih

Posted: 24 Jun 2011 01:04 AM PDT

PETALING JAYA, 24 Jun — Pemimpin PKR Datuk Johari Abdul petang ini mempertahankan ketuanya Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (gambar) bahawa beliau bukan si pelaku dalam rakaman video seks yang ditayangkan oleh 'Datuk T' tiga bulan lalu sambil berkata ada "seribu kemungkinan" mengenai identiti individu terbabit.

Menjawab hujah dikemukakan di mahkamah pagi tadi, wakil rakyat itu menunjukkan kepada pemberita satu "dokumentari" video seks buatan sendiri, di mana beliau merupakan "hosnya".

Tengah hari tadi, trio Datuk T menegaskan walaupun dijatuhkan hukuman kerana menayangkan bahan lucah, namun mereka menyifatkan ia "satu kejayaan" apabila dapat menyampaikan kepada rakyat identiti sebenar Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Ketiga-tiga Datuk T diijatuhkan didenda RM5,500 atas kesalahan menayangkan rakaman video seks yang si pelakunya didakwa mirip Anwar.

Ketika prosiding pagi tadi, kesemua mereka iaitu ahli perniagaan Datuk Shazryl Eskay Abdullah, bekas bendahari agung Perkasa Datuk Shuib Lazim dan ketua menteri Melaka Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik mengaku bersalah atas tuduhan yang dibacakan.

Tegas beliau, pihaknya akur dengan keputusan yang dibuat Majistret Aizatul Akmal Maharani sambil menegaskan Anwar adalah pelaku dalam rakaman video seks itu.

"Anwar Ibrahim yang melakukan hipokrasi ini tidak layak untuk menjadi perdana menteri dan kami berharap selepas ini, rakyat dapat menghakimi perkara yang sebenar.

"Tiada lagi kenyataan mirip-mirip Anwar... yang ada hanya Anwar Ibrahim," katanya.

"Ada seribu kemungkinan berkenaan aktor dalam video (ditayangkan oleh Datuk T)... bagi kami, ia bukan Anwar, disebabkan banyak alasan," kata Johari dalam video itu.

Video itu menunjukkan Johari bercakap kepada kamera dengan bahagian belakangnya menghala kepada televisyen skrin mendatar yang mempertontonkan bahagian-bahagian yang sudah diedit dan beberapa segmen video seks asal.

Ketika ditanya sama ada beliau sedar yang beliau boleh dicaj kerana menayangkan bahagian-bahagian tertentu video seks asal, Johari berkata, "saya mengambil tanggungjawab penuh."

'Dokumentari' itu mengetengahkan 'bukti' dalam video yang menunjukkan lelaki dalam video seks itu bukan Anwar, dengan menekankan bahawa hidung individu terbabit berbeza daripada Ketua Pembangkang, keadaan fizikal yang berbeza dan lelaki dalam video mengenakan cermin mata.

"Semua kita tahu bahawa hidung Anwar mendatar... dan juga tidak lagi memakai cermin mata selepas pembedahan laser," kata Johari lagi.

Video terbaru ini menunjukkan Joahri di satu lokasi yang tidak didedahkan, didakwa di Thailand, di mana seorang jurusolek mengenakan solekan pada muka Ahli Parlimen itu untuk beliau kelihatan seakan-akan seniman agung Tan Sri P. Ramlee.

"Datuk Shazryl Eskay Abdullah ada memberitahu bekas pengawal Allahyarham Tan Sri Megat Junid bahawa dia mahu ke Thailand untuk melakukan sesuatu ke atas Anwar.

"Video seks ini datang dari Thailand," kata Johari dalam video dengan memberikan pos di sisi gambar P. Ramlee.

"Malah anda juga boleh kelihatan macam idola," katanya.

Ahli Parlimen Sungai Petani ini menekankan bahawa beliau bertanggungjawab terhadap penerbitan 'dokumentari' itu dan Anwar sendiri belum melihatnya lagi.

Johari berkata beliau mengambil masa kira-kira 34 hari untuk menghasilkan video itu dan melakukan sendiri segala "penyelidikan."

Kata beliau, 'dokumentari' itu dimuat naik ke dalam Youtube dalam waktu terdekat dan akan diedarkan ketika majlis ceramah kemudian.

"Ya, video ini akan diedarkan... tolong buat salinan. Kami berhutang kepada orang ramai satu penjelasan mengenai kebenaran (isu) ini," kata beliau lagi.

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Karikatur: PAS buat demo, gesa KDN gantung permit Utusan

Posted: 24 Jun 2011 12:41 AM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR, 24 Jun — PAS mengadakan demonstrasi di bandar-bandar utama hari ini sambil menggesa Kementerian Dalam Negeri (KDN) mengambil tindakan tegas terhadap Utusan Malaysia berhubung penyiaran karikatur yang didakwa menghina agama Islam.

Selain itu, parti Islam itu juga mahu polis dan jabatan agama menyiasat karikatur yang disiarkan pada 15 Jun lalu.

Hari ini, demonstrasi diadakan di beberapa negeri termasuk Perak, Pulau Pinang, Melaka dan Terengganu ekoran keengganan Utusan Malaysia memohon maaf secara terbuka kerana menyiarkan karikatur itu.

Demonstrasi anjuran PAS di pekarangan Masjid Jamek, Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur membantah karikatur terbitan Utusan Malaysia. — Foto oleh Choo Choy May

"Kita sudah hantar memorandum supaya Utusan Malaysia meminta maaf tapi sehingga hari ini mereka tidak berbuat demikian... kita tidak boleh membiarkan akhbar yang menghina Islam.

"Sekali lagi kami mahu Utusan Malaysia meminta maaf kepada seluruh umat Islam, kita juga mahu polis, jabatan agama menyiasat kartunis dan editor-editor yang menghina Islam ini," kata Ketua Penerangan PAS Wilayah Persekutuan Nasaie Ismail ketika menyampaikan ucapan di pekarangan Masjid Jamek, Kampung Baru di sini selepas solat Jumaat.

Minggu lalu Dewan Pemuda PAS pusat memberi tempoh tujuh hari kepada Utusan Malaysia agar memohon maaf bermula dari tarikh karikatur itu disiarkan.

Selain itu, Dewan Pemuda PAS pusat juga mahu Utusan Malaysia mengambil tindakan ke atas pelukis karikatur itu yang hanya dikenali sebagai "Miki".

Utusan Malaysia telah menyiarkan karikatur bertajuk "Kekeliruan Kes Rogol" dan ia menurut Persatuan Ulama Malaysia (PUM) dan Dewan Pemuda PAS Kelantan menghina Islam.

Dalam demonstrasi aman yang disertai kira-kira 50 orang turut melaungkan slogan "Utusan Hina Islam", "Hancur Utusan Malaysia", Boikot Utusan Malaysa", "Hidup Umat Islam", "Jangan Hina Ajaran Islam" dan "Batalkan Permit Utusan Malaysia."

Peserta demonstrasi itu juga membakar Utusan Malaysia sebagai simbolik membantah tindakan akhbar milik Umno.

Sementara itu Timbalan Pesuruhjaya III PAS Wilayah Persekutuan Ahmad Sabki Yusof berkata KDN perlu mengambil tindakan segera dengan menggantung permit Utusan Malaysia.

"Ini menunjukkan satu kebiadapan mereka yang menghina Islam dan menghina ajaran Islam... mereka telah lakukan kesalahan besar kepada umat Islam.

"KDN perlu mengambil tindakan segera, kami gesa KDN menggantung permit Utusan Malaysia... kami juga mahu pihak berkuasa segera mengambil tindakan tegas ke atas akhbar itu yang jelas menghina Islam," katanya.

Pagi tadi, Dewan Muslimat PAS pusat telah membuat aduan di Jabatan Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan (Jawi) dan menggesa agensi itu melakukan siasatan ke atas Utusan Malaysia.

Sayap PAS itu juga mahu Jawi menyiasat pembabitan biro politik Umno dalam pengeluaran dan penerbitan karikatur tersebut.

Sementara itu di Melaka, kira-kira 100 orang telah berkumpul di hadapan Masjid Bukit Katil bagi membantah dan mengecam penyiaran karikatur tersebut.

Menurut Pesuruhjaya PAS Melaka Adly Zahari, pihak kesal dengan tindakan dengan akhbar berbahasa Malaysia itu sambil menyifatkan "ia boleh diselesaikan" jika memohon maaf.

"Demonstrasi ini dianjurkan Pemuda PAS dalam isu karikatur yang disiarkan dalam Utusan Malaysia yang menghina hukum Islam, kita kecewa dengan sikap Utusan Malaysia dan sikap yang ditonjolkan mereka yang mengelirukan umat Islam, menghina hukum Islam, menghina institusi agama dan menggambarkan undang-undang Islam tidak mampu membela nasib mangsa rogol.

"Jadi dalam perkara ini KDN perlu mengambil tindakan tegas, Utusan Malaysia juga kalau sudah melakukan kesilapan mohon maaf sahaja, ia boleh diselesaikan," katanya kepada The Malaysian Insider.

Di Perak pula, Pesuruhjaya PAS negeri Abu Bakar Hussain telah mengetuai demonstrasi aman yang diadakan di Masjid Negeri, Ipoh.

Menurut Exco Pemuda PAS Perak Hafiz Sabri, pihaknya mencadangkan agar kerajaan membentuk satu panel penilai untuk memantau laporan dan karikatur yang disiarkan di media arus perdana.

"Pada demonstrasi tadi, kira-kira 300 orang telah berkumpul untuk menyatakan pendirian kami membantah karikatur yang disiarkan Utusan Malaysia pada 15 Jun lalu dan kami mahu Utusan Malaysia memohon maaf.

"Kami juga mahu agar rakyat memboikot Utusan Malaysia selain mahu KDN mengambil tindakan tegas," katanya.

Setiausaha Dewan Pemuda PAS Pulau Pinang Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudin berkata pihaknya menganjurkan demonstrasi di tiga buah masjid di negeri itu iaitu Masjid Jamek Permatang Janggus, Permatang Pauh, Masjid Jamek Hashim Yahya, Jelutong dan Masjid Kampung Padang Lalang di Bukit Mertajam.

"Hari ini kita telah mengadakan demonstrasi bantahan terhadap Utusan Malaysia di tiga masjid kerana tindakan Utusan Malaysia yang sehingga kini masih tidak memberikan sebarang respons terhadap memorandum bantahan yang kita hantar minggu lalu.

"Kami menyifatkan Utusan Malaysia tidak sensitif apabila bertindak berdiam diri dalam perkara ini dan kita mahu KDN mengambil tindakan tegas terhadap Utusan Malaysia," katanya.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

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The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

Another day, another bogeyman raised

Posted: 23 Jun 2011 05:14 PM PDT

JUNE 24 — In all the furore surrounding the Bersih 2.0 rally, I couldn't help noticing that all the things and events used to scare us are being dragged out yet again, presumably so that we would all be scared of history repeating itself and therefore stick to the status quo.

First up is of course the spectre of May 13. Time and again self-serving politicians bring this up to remind us to toe the line. You know what? I was born after 1969. I didn't live through those events, and all I know about May 13 I learnt through my own endeavours.

If May 13 is so important to us, and if we're always exhorted to remember it, then why, if we so much as try to discuss what happened then, are we told NOT to do so because it may be detrimental to our racial sensibilities?

I mean, come on. How can we be expected to remember something that we don't fully know about, and that nobody seems to want to discuss objectively? It's as if we rakyat are little children told by our adult politicians not to open a cupboard because monsters hide in there. What rubbish.

Don't get me wrong. I love my country, and I have no wish to see it descend into Arab Spring-like chaos, but I think our politicians should give us a bit of credit too. Most of us are actually mature adults capable of holding rational discussions.

Yes, the events of May 13 were horrendous, and I fervently wish that it would not happen again, but I also think that we need to bust the myth of May 13 by discussing it openly so that we can learn from it — the lessons learnt in its aftermath might need reviewing after more than 40 years.

Then there's the other favourite bogeyman — the Jews. For a country that doesn't even have a Jewish population, politicians of a certain type in our country are obsessed by the Jews. Anyone accused of blackening the country's name is denounced as an "agent of the Jews."

Have any of these people even met a Jewish person? Funnily enough, they're just like you and I (contrary to what an ustaz told me years ago, they don't have hooked noses either!) and quite frankly, I think most Jewish people have other things to think about than worrying about our country!

I don't quite get this obsession with the Jews actually. Is it because of Israel, and its treatment of the Palestinians? Is it because we want to show solidarity with the Arab world? Is it just because they're Jews?

Well, at the risk of sounding callous, the Israeli treatment of the Palestinians is no better and no worse than the treatment of the Talibans towards their fellow Muslims when they were in power in Afghanistan (where were the demonstrations and agitations against the Taliban then, eh? And what about those Saudis and their penchant for beheading maids who have the temerity to strike back against employers who abuse them?). There are bad people everywhere. Should we demonise an entire race just because one country oppresses some of its people?

Yes, I too feel anger when I see the demolition of houses in the West Bank; when I see the shelling in Gaza. I too feel anguished when I read about men and women forced to abandon their ancestral lands simply because a wall has arbitrarily split their land into two. I too feel loathing when I read about the attitudes some of the Israeli settlers have towards the Palestinians.

But you know what? If I was an Israeli I would probably feel a lot of hatred towards the Palestinians too, because Hamas and its ilk have made life unpalatable. All I'm saying is, there are two sides to every story. Neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians are whiter than white and I find it extremely tiresome when a Malaysian politician peddles the Jewish line to score some points because it just comes across as being ill-informed and plain nasty.

In fact, what I find even more seriously disturbing is our prime minister inviting the likes of Robert Mugabe and Omar al-Bashir to our country to attend the recent Langkawi International Dialogue conference. I know why they were invited, but really, the excuse that we need to have dialogue with these types of people is nonsense.

Mugabe has personally bankrupted his country and presided over the death of many, many Zimbabweans. The many accounts of life in Zimbabwe, especially during election campaigns, are absolutely shocking and I am sickened at the thought of that man pontificating about how evil the West is, on our soil.

Yet still our PM invites this man to our country? It's like saying we'll invite someone like Hitler to our country so that we can engage him in dialogue. Why bother? With some tyrannical, despotic leaders it's just not worth the effort.

Then there's the explanation given by our PM on why it was all right to invite al-Bashir to our country — we're not a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), so we don't have to comply with their rulings.

Goodness, how far our ethical standards have fallen! In the 1980s we boycotted South Africa because of apartheid. Now, it seems that we are more than happy to play with the leaders of tyrannical states rather than abide by the ways of the civilised world.

Actually, if I were a politician, I wouldn't need to go too far to find something to scare Malaysians with. Forget May 13 or the Jews. A government that sees nothing amiss with playing host to murderous tyrants, and giving them a platform to air their views ... let's just hope our politicians aren't thinking of learning from them, especially during the Bersih 2.0 rally!

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

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Blind faith has no place in religion

Posted: 23 Jun 2011 05:05 PM PDT

JUNE 24 — What happens when you apply reason and logic to the Islamic religion? You would be eternally damned to hell. Or so many would want you to believe.

And why would they want you to believe that? It makes it easier for them to control how you practise Islam.

And so they would have you believe that religion requires blind faith and involves no logic whatsoever. Or what many would like to call a "leap of faith."

I can't accept that because it basically means that if you were to believe in Islam, it meant that you had to just accept things as is for no reason but because God says so.

I truly believe that Islam is a religion that promotes and encourages reason as the Quran has stated in Surah Al Jathiyah.

"And in the succession of night and day, and in the means of subsistence which God sends down from the skies, giving life thereby to the earth after it had been lifeless, and in the change of the winds: in all this there are messages for people who use their reason."

Although mankind is moving forward in terms of technology, health and whatever else, it seems that everything is the opposite when it comes to religious progress.

It is as if Muslims are trying to be overly religious, probably overcompensating for a lack of something in the practise of their belief.

So much so that everything about the religion is taken literally and no debate is ever allowed because everything becomes too sacred, hence the killing of logic and reason.

In the 8th century, a group of Muslims known as the Mutazilites emerged, and they promoted the concept of reason in the understanding of the religion.

The movement believed that God's orders should be understood using rational thought and inquiry and that knowledge should be obtained using reason.

Mutazilites believed in the need for interaction between intellectual reasoning and the divine revelations of God.

Some of the more famous Mutazilites who have played a major role in the development of Islam as a way of life include Ibnu Sina, Ibnu Rushd and Al Farabi.

When I believe in something, I need it to have a definite answer and reason rather than just have blind faith and throw myself into it hoping for a positive outcome.

It's like gambling on which religion to believe in and hoping that at the end of the day, the dice you threw lands at the right slot.

It is a danger when people feel that to have faith means to believe without reason and to have trust in that faith without knowing if it is true or not.

The Quran states in Surah Al Araf;

"And we have created hell for many. They have hearts with which they do not use for comprehension, they have eyes with which they do not see, and they have ears with which they do not hear. Those are like livestock; rather, they are more astray. It is they who are the heedless."

So if someone who has a nice sounding religious title (i.e. Mufti, Imam, Ustaz, Ulama, Syeikh, Syed, Tun, Tan Sri, Datuk, etc) tells you something, think before accepting it.

How logical is it to declare the harmless poco-poco dance haram just because the movements are similar to a dance by Jamaicans who were Christians a long time ago?

What kind of rational thought is being used when yoga, as a form of exercise, is pronounced as haram because it has its roots in Hindu culture?

If that's the case, let's just declare the Malay language haram since it was spoken by Malays, who were Hindus, way before Islam came to the Malay archipelago.

Unfortunately, the Mutazilite movement died out in the 15th century due to strong objection from many quarters who probably felt that it was a threat to their positions.

Maybe I'm just fighting a lost cause. Or maybe I should just have some blind faith that everything might turn out all right.

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

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Jumaat, 24 Jun 2011