Jumaat, 24 Januari 2014

The Malaysian Insider :: Food

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The Malaysian Insider :: Food

Super dishes for the Chinese New Year

Posted: 24 Jan 2014 08:17 PM PST

BY EU HOOI KHAW
January 25, 2014

Stuffed Dragon Tiger Garoupa fillets mean Loong Ching Fu Mang or lively dragon, active tiger. – January 25, 2014.The fish was the star of the dinner at Extra Supertanker in Petaling Jaya recently. This was the Loong Fu Parn, or Dragon Tiger Garoupa, which is a crossbreed between a loong tun (giant garoupa) and a tiger garoupa.

An all-natural Yee Sang with no coloured ingredients.The chef had the fish fillets filled with a paste of minced pork, ikan parang, prawns and waterchestnut, steamed and topped with tobiko (flying fish roe) and fried garlic.

The stuffed fillets tasted like delicate, tasty dimsum with the crunch of waterchestnut, and springy prawn. You could still get the supple and smooth texture of the fish, and its natural sweetness. I loved it that there were no bones, and there were other parts of the fish to taste too, the head and sides, where the springy, gelatinous skin of the giant garoupa was still evident.

This Dragon Tiger Garoupa carries an auspicious greeting – Loong Ching Fu Mang or Lively Dragon, Active Tiger. All should aspire to this in the New Year. And fish also symbolises abundant wealth.

In the Yee Sang we had tossed earlier with softshell crabs, Ah Wah Koh, the super chef of Extra Supertanker, had every detail of this salad mapped out four months before. He had the tiny but extra fragrant sesame seeds brought in from Thailand and the best peanuts from Yunnan. All the crispies, including the yam strips, and the pickles were prepared in-house. The fresh ingredients were not touched by colouring.

The sauce that brought this Yee Sang perfectly together was a lightly sweet, tart one, blended with apple jam and lemon juice.

Iberico Char Siu that melts in the mouth. – January 25, 2014.The Spanish Iberico Char Siu, served with crushed, roasted peanuts, gave a luscious dimension to our dinner. I revelled in the caramelised, honeyed edges of the char siu, the creamy feel in the mouth with the aromatic meat. I tried it with the peanuts, but the char siu was scrumptious already on its own. It would also go well with Lap Mei Farn or Claypot Rice with Waxed Meat.

Ten years ago I already liked the Lap Mei Farn at Extra Supertanker, and recommended it to many of my friends.

Lap Mei Farn with pork and liver sausages, waxed meat and waxed duck. – January 25, 2014.It's still as good and consistent. It's the whole ritual of lifting the lid off the claypot, the apppetising aromas as the rice is stirred and the thick slices of lush sausages, waxed duck and meat that make this so irresistible. I can never get tired of this rice, especially the crispy crust at the bottom of the pot, where all the drippings from the sausages and waxed meats have landed.

The liver sausages stood out – they were juicy and intensely flavourful. The chef uses Thai fragrant rice to cook the Lap Mei Farn.

Ho Si Pau with abalone, fatt choy and stuffed sea cucumber. – January 25, 2014.The Braised Abalone with Stuffed Sea Cucumber and Fatt Choy was a joy to eat. The bouncy sea cucumber was bursting with prawn meat and chopped water chestnut and made lovely bites, as did the smooth, tender abalone.

Fatt Choy Hoi Sum Kor – vegetables with fish paste, sea cucumber, cashew nuts and sea moss. – January 25, 2014.The Fatt Choy Hor Sum Kor was a mixed vegetable dish of carrot, broccoli, bangkuang, waterchestnut, celery, sea cucumber, fish paste, sea moss and cashew nuts. It was a mélange of flavours and crunchy textures. The smooth, springy fish paste or yue wat was excellent, freshly made in-house with ikan parang.

Dessert was soft, sticky Ninko sandwiched between a slice of yam and sweet potato and deepfried, and mochi.

Mochi and Fried Ninko with sweet potato and yam. – January 25, 2014.The prices: The Dragon Tiger Fish is RM228 (for 1.2kg), Yee Sang RM78 and RM98, Iberico Char Siu RM50, the Braised Abalone and Stuffed Sea Cucumber RM55, Fatt Choy Hoi Sum Koh RM28 and RM48.

The Chinese New Year sets are at RM838++, RM998++ and RM1,488++.

Restaurant Extra Supertanker is located at 48, SS20/10, Damansara Kim, Petaling Jaya 47400, tel: 03-7726 7768, 03-7725 7769. It's also at The ClubNo. 1, Club Drive, Bukit Utama, 47800 Petaling Jaya, tel: 03-7726 8877. – January 25, 2014.All set for the Chinese New Year, with a Yee Sang stall on one side. – January 25, 2014.

Super dishes for the Chinese New Year

Posted: 24 Jan 2014 08:17 PM PST

BY EU HOOI KHAW
January 25, 2014

This Dragon Tiger Garoupa carries an auspicious greeting – Loong Ching Fu Mang or Lively Dragon, Active Tiger. All should aspire to this in the New Year. And fish also symbolises abundant wealth.

The sauce that brought this Yee Sang perfectly together was a lightly sweet, tart one, blended with apple jam and lemon juice.

Ten years ago I already liked the Lap Mei Farn at Extra Supertanker, and recommended it to many of my friends.

The liver sausages stood out – they were juicy and intensely flavourful. The chef uses Thai fragrant rice to cook the Lap Mei Farn.

Dessert was soft, sticky Ninko sandwiched between a slice of yam and sweet potato and deepfried, and mochi.

The Chinese New Year sets are at RM838++, RM998++ and RM1,488++.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

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The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

Leaders Bayern kick off year with Gladbach win

Posted: 24 Jan 2014 02:28 PM PST

January 25, 2014

Bayern Munich's Thomas Mueller scores a penalty against Borussia Moenchengladbach during the German first division Bundesliga match in Moenchengladbach, yesterday. - Reuters pic, January 25, 2014.Bayern Munich's Thomas Mueller set up one goal and netted a penalty to help the Bundesliga leaders beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0 and go 10 points clear as the league resumed yesterday after the winter break.

Despite the absence of key players, including the injured Franck Ribery and Bastian Schweinsteiger, treble winners Bayern picked up where they left off in December to stretch their unbeaten run to 42 consecutive league games.

"I am happy for my team," Bayern coach Pep Guardiola told reporters. His team had suffered a surprise 3-0 defeat away to Salzburg in a friendly game last week.

"Salzburg was a good lesson for us. Tonight we worked hard and did it well," said the Spaniard. "We created many chances. Borussia are an incredibly intelligent side and I am very happy with our performance."

After a nervous opening spell in which third-placed Gladbach's Max Kruse squandered a golden chance, Bayern, who have now won their last nine league games, settled and came close when Mario Goetze's shot scraped the post.

Midfielder Goetze started in a lone striker role after Mario Mandzukic was dropped from the squad for not having trained well, according to sports director Matthias Sammer.

Mandzukic, last season's first choice forward, has lost his regular starting spot under Guardiola, who will also have Poland striker Robert Lewandowski in his squad from next season.

Goetze soon had better luck when Mueller raced down the right wing and cut the ball back for his Germany team mate to drill into the net for the lead after seven minutes.

Gladbach were constantly on the backfoot against a Bayern side who never hit top speed but controlled possession, using defender Philip Lahm as a holding midfielder while Spaniard Thiago orchestrated the game.

However, the hosts did come close twice on the stroke of halftime with Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer palming a Kruse shot on to the post and denying Juan Arango from close range.

Mueller got on the scoresheet eight minutes after the restart, converting a penalty to condemn Gladbach to their first home defeat of the campaign before the hosts hit the woodwork again through Patrick Herrmann.

Today, second-placed Bayer Leverkusen, on 37 points, are in action at lowly Freiburg while Borussia Dortmund, fourth with 32, host mid-table Augsburg. Gladbach are third on 33. - Reuters, January 25, 2014.

Podolski double helps Arsenal rout Coventry in FA Cup

Posted: 24 Jan 2014 02:22 PM PST

January 25, 2014

Arsenal's Lukas Podolski (top) is challenged by Coventry City's Carl Baker during their English FA Cup fourth round match at The Emirates in London, yesterday. - Reuters pic, January 25, 2014.Arsenal striker Lukas Podolski scored twice in the opening half-hour as the Premier League leaders romped to a 4-0 win over third-tier Coventry City in their FA Cup fourth round tie at the Emirates yesterday.

Podolski's goals were set up by fellow Germans Mezut Ozil and Per Mertesacker as the 10-times winners eased into the last 16 on a rainy night in north London.

The Polish-born forward rifled home from inside the area after a pass from midfielder Ozil in the 15th minute and headed in a corner at the far post from defender Mertesacker's flick-on at the near post in the 27th.

Podolski was replaced by Olivier Giroud in the 79th and within five minutes the Frenchman had scored Arsenal's third goal with a tap-in from left back Kieran Gibbs's cross.

Fellow substitute Santi Cazorla completed the rout in the 89th from a rebound after keeper Joe Murphy had parried a shot.

Three minutes after the opening goal Coventry, the 1987 FA Cup winners who now play in League One, almost hit back with Arsenal stopper Lukasz Fabianski making a diving save to keep out midfielder Carl Baker's fine shot from outside the area.

Striker Leon Clarke also missed two good chances to get a more enterprising Coventry side back into the game early in the second half.

Fabianski saved his first effort and the striker then hit the post from a central position inside the box after Franck Moussa's square pass with the second.

"In the first half we did the job and took the game to them in a serious way and played the way we know we can," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was quoted as saying by the BBC.

"In the second half we dropped off and, give them credit, they gave it a go. Coventry should be pleased with their performance and we should be pleased with the result."

Former European champions Nottingham Forest, now in the second tier Championship, were held 0-0 at home by League One side Preston North End in a clash of former FA Cup winners.

The fourth round continues today with holders Wigan Athletic, who were relegated from the top flight three days after their dramatic late win over Manchester City in last season's final, at home to Premier League Crystal Palace.

Cup favourites Manchester City host second-tier Watford, also today, while seven-times winners Chelsea face Stoke City in an all-top flight tie at Stamford Bridge tomorrow. - Reuters, January 25, 2014.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

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The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

Controversial Grace Kelly movie to open Cannes festival

Posted: 24 Jan 2014 08:12 AM PST

January 25, 2014

A controversial biographical film on Princess Grace of Monaco, which has been slammed by the former Hollywood star's children as "pure fiction", will open the Cannes film festival, the organisers said yesterday.

The world preview of "Grace of Monaco" will take place on May 14 in the out of competition category, a statement said.

It will simultaneously be released in France and several cities around the world.

The 67th Cannes film festival will run from May 14-25 in the southern France resort town.

The film, directed by France's Olivier Dahan and featuring Australian actress Nicole Kidman (pic) as Grace Kelly, the Hollywood star-turned-princess, and British actor Tim Roth as her husband Prince Rainier, has been mired in controversy.

Dahan is locked in a months-long stand-off with the film's US producer Harvey Weinstein. According to the Hollywood Reporter there is no release date for the movie in the United States.

Dahan had told French newspaper Liberation that he was being "blackmailed" by Weinstein into signing off on a new edit which did not represent his original vision.

"There are two versions of the film – mine and his – which I find catastrophic," he had said, adding: "They want a commercial film smelling of daisies."

The film revolves around the fairytale couple, whose 1956 nuptials were labelled "the marriage of the century" in the popular press. It tracks events at a time when France was threatening to annex the tiny principality on its southern coast.

The couple's children – Prince Albert and the Princesses Caroline and Stephanie – have said the film was "pure fiction".

"It tells a story, rewritten and unnecessarily glamorised... containing significant historical inaccuracies and a series of purely fictional scenes," the royals said in a statement.

The statement said the royal family had been granted access to the script and requested several changes, but the requests were not taken into account.

The biopic focuses on a six-month period in 1962 when Monaco was in a heated tax dispute with France and Alfred Hitchcock offered Kelly a chance to return to acting in a new film he was planning called "Marnie".

Princess Grace ultimately did not do the film. – AFP, January 25, 2014.

Beatles to be honoured at Grammys, 50 years on

Posted: 24 Jan 2014 08:06 AM PST

January 25, 2014

Music's biggest stars gather Sunday for the Grammys, with artists ranging from the Beatles (pic) and veteran rapper Jay-Z to newcomers like New Zealand's Lorde and rapper Kendrick Lamar up for honours.

French electro sensation Daft Punk, pop diva Taylor Swift, chart-topper Justin Timberlake and Seattle hip hop duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis are also among those vying for prizes at music's version of the Oscars in Los Angeles.

Surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr will perform as organisers the Recording Academy belatedly bestow a Lifetime Achievement Award on the Fab Four, while preparing to mark 50 years since their famous first US TV appearance.

The 56th annual Grammy Awards show will include a "Grammy moment" bringing together country music veterans Merle Haggard, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson and Blake Shelton.

The show, at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, will climax with a rock supergroup featuring Nine Inch Nails, Queens of the Stone Age, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl and Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham.

Presenters include Cyndi Lauper, Yoko Ono, Smokey Robinson, and Jared Leto – who is basking in awards season glory for the Oscar-nominated activist film "Dallas Buyers Club," but who also fronts an LA band, "30 Seconds to Mars."

McCartney will accept a lifetime achievement award for the Beatles, one of seven to receive the honour also including Kristofferson, the Isley Brothers and German electro music pioneers Kraftwerk.

McCartney and Starr will also reunite for a Grammys tribute event being recorded Monday, and set to air on February 9 – the 50th anniversary of their appearance on the Ed Sullivan show, launching Beatlemania in the United States. – AFP, January 25, 2014.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Features

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The Malaysian Insider :: Features

New York seeks to double recycling by 2017

Posted: 23 Jan 2014 07:36 PM PST

January 24, 2014

Workers are dwarfed by a huge pile of recyclable waste at the new SIMS Metal Management centre in Brooklyn New York. After years of delay, New York seeks to recover the lost time and double their recycling rate by 2017, with a set of initiatives and finally the opening of a modern plant. – AFP pic, January 24, 2014. More than 40,000 tons of waste a day, 7,000 employees and a fleet of more than 2,500 trucks: New York faces an uphill task in trashing its garbage and doubling recycling by 2017.

It is the US city that generates the most garbage: a dizzying 2.5 kilos per person per day compared to two kilos in the rest of the country, according to the office of Mayor Bill de Blasio.

"Sanitation is the most important uniformed force on the street," writes Robin Nagle, anthropologist at New York University in her book "Picking Up".

"If sanitation workers aren't there, the city becomes unlivable, fast."

But New York, in so many other respects a municipal policy trailblazer for the United States, lags woefully behind its West Coast and European rivals on the issue of recycling.

Ron Gonen, New York recycling czar, says the amount of waste rises each year and that the city spends $330 million (RM1.1 billion) on trucking off its refuse to places like Ohio or North Carolina.

But in the last two years the city of 8.4 million, where businesses organise their own separate waste collection, has made serious if belated efforts to improve recycling.

Of the 11,200 tons of daily rubbish collected by the city, it is committed to increasing the rate of recycling from 15 to 30% by 2017, organic waste not included.

Private companies discard another 29,000 tons a day.

The city has partnered with private investors to build a brand-new, state-of-the-art recycling plant in Brooklyn.

The city has extended a pilot program to collect organic waste from 300 schools this year, up from 90 in the last.

From July 2015 restaurants, delis and grocers will also have to separate out organic waste and recycling.

"In the last two years there was phenomenal dedication. There is a lot of potential," Gonen told AFP.

"Catching up quickly"

Eric Goldstein, an expert from the Natural Resources Defense Council also working with the city, agrees.

"We are in an early stage of transformation," he told AFP.

"We had a slow start, we are still not one of the leading cities, as Seattle or San Francisco. But we are catching up quickly by good steps forward."

He blamed the delay on being too focused on the short-term and shying away from long-term investments.

"The biggest challenge is that the progress of the Bloomberg administration continues with the new mayor," Goldstein told AFP, referring to the just-finished reign of billionaire media mogul Michael Bloomberg.

In December, an ultra-modern recycling plant for metals, glass and plastics opened in Brooklyn, operated by Sims Municipal Recycling, a world leader in the sector.

It took 10 years and $110 million from private and state investors to build the 44,515 square meter Sunset Park Material Recovery Facility along the East River.

"This is the largest sorting system of this type, to my knowledge, in the world, certainly in the United States," said Tom Outerbridge, general manager of the Sims plant.

The machinery is mostly Dutch and German. There is an educational center for students but at the moment it functions only eight hours a day with the plan to go 24-seven by spring.

Of the approximately 800 tons of plastic, glass and metal that the city collects each day, the plant currently treats about 272.

The rest goes to another plant in neighboring New Jersey. The two plants combined can recycle 1,180 tons a day according to Outerbridge, who has 25 years' experience in the sector.

Recycling is not just good for the environment. It also generates revenue: an aluminum cube produced by Sunset Park weighing around 680 kilos can be resold for $1,000. – AFP, January 24, 2014.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Bahasa

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Demonstrasi jalanan cabul hak masyarakat majoriti, kata Dr Mahathir

Posted: 24 Jan 2014 02:32 AM PST

January 24, 2014

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad berada di forum mengenai hak asasi manusia di Pusat Islam, Kuala Lumpur hari ini. – Gambar The Malaysian Insider oleh Nazir Sufari.Budaya demonstrasi jalanan yang semakin diangkat golongan tertentu untuk menyatakan ketidakpuasan hati mereka adalah suatu tindakan yang mencabul hak masyarakat majoriti.

Bekas Perdana Menteri Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad berkata ini kerana senario semasa menampakkan bahawa tindakan itu hanya membawa suara kumpulan minoriti atau individu tertentu sahaja sehingga menjejaskan kumpulan majoriti, menyebabkan mereka menerima pelbagai tempias negatif.

"Umpamanya bila berlaku demonstrasi, ini mengganggu perniagaan orang lain, ini bermakna kita telah menghapuskan hak orang lain, ini tidak harus dilakukan," katanya pemberita selepas melancarkan Forum Kebangsaan dan Buku "Hak Asasi Kemanusiaan Dalam Tradisi Islam" di Pusat Islam di Kuala Lumpur.

Dr Mahathir turut memberi contoh demonstrasi rakyat di Bangkok, Thailand, yang semakin meruncing sehingga pusat perniagaan lumpuh dan menjejaskan mata pencarian rakyat terutama golongan peniaga.

Beliau turut menegaskan pelaksanaan hak asasi perlu mempunyai keseimbangan kerana keutamaan kepada hak individu dan kumpulan minoriti semata-mata akan memusnahkan keamanan negara.

Dr Mahathir juga menyeru semua pihak agar tidak berpegang kepada fahaman barat yang mementingkan kebebasan dan hak individu serta kumpulan minoriti semata-mata kerana konsep kebebasan ada batasannya.

"Hakikatnya kebebasan mempunyai batasan kerana kepentingan majoriti juga harus dijaga tanpa menekankan keperluan minoriti," katanya. – Bernama, 24 Januari, 2014.

Penduduk berbaju sejuk berikutan suhu rendah di Kuala Krai

Posted: 24 Jan 2014 02:04 AM PST

January 24, 2014

Penduduk Kuala Krai berpakaian tebal ekoran suhu 17 darjah Celsius akibat daripada luruan udara sejuk dari Tanah Besar China. – Gambar Astro Awani.Suhu serendah 17 darjah Celsius yang direkod di Kuala Krai sejak Rabu lepas menyebabkan penduduk terpaksa memakai baju sejuk bagi memanaskan badan.

Tinjauan Bernama di dua tempat beriadah popular iaitu Taman Tasik Kuala Krai dan Taman Cinta Wangsa, mendapati ramai penduduk melakukan aktiviti riadah lebih lewat daripada kebiasaan berikutan kabus tebal yang menyelubungi kawasan itu.

Penjawat awam, Mohd Baihaqi Che Man, 28, berkata beliau kini bersenam sekitar 8 pagi berbanding pukul 7 minggu sebelumnya.

"Ini kerana cuaca yang sejuk menyebabkan kabus tebal dan jarak penglihatan menjadi kurang. Saya mengambil keputusan untuk keluar berjoging lewat sedikit pada hari ini kerana bimbang dirempuh kenderaan.

"Selain itu, saya terpaksa memakai tiga lapis baju, termasuk baju sejuk, kerana suhu yang lebih sejuk berbanding minggu lepas," katanya.

Seorang guru, Abd Aziz Daud, 42, dari Sungai Pas pula menyifatkan keadaan suhu yang rendah di kawasan pedalaman itu adalah luar biasa dan ada murid terpaksa memakai baju sejuk walaupun pada waktu tengah hari.

"Bukan sahaja murid malah guru sendiripun ada yang memakai baju sejuk kerana tak tahan dengan keadaan itu.

"Bagaimanapun, murid masih datang ke sekolah seperti biasa dan kehadiran tidak terjejas walaupun keadaan suhu yang rendah di kawasan pedalaman," katanya.

Seorang lagi penjawat awam, Norazita Ismail, 36, dari Guchil 3, berkata beliau terpaksa mandi menggunakan air panas sebelum ke tempat kerja.

"Nak sentuh air pun saya rasa takut, terutama ketika hendak solat Subuh. Air terlalu sejuk... terasa seperti menyentuh ais pada waktu pagi ketika nak berwuduk.

"Mujur kereta tak meragam dan dapat dihidupkan seperti biasa walaupun keadaan sejuk pada waktu pagi. Pukul 9.30 pagi pun masih berkabus," katanya.

Sementara itu, Pengarah Kesihatan Kelantan Datuk Ahmad Razin Ahmad Maher berkata walaupun fenomena suhu rendah berlaku di negeri ini sejak Rabu lepas, tiada sebarang masalah kesihatan dilapor sehingga kini.

Portal rasmi Jabatan Meteorologi Malaysia pada Rabu lepas melaporkan Kuala Krai mencatat suhu kedua paling rendah iaitu 17.2 darjah Celsius selepas Cameron Highlands (12 darjah Celsius).

Suhu di Kuala Krai hari ini ialah minimum 19.1 darjah Celsius dan maksimum 29.2 darjah Celsius manakala di Kota Baru pula, minimum 21 darjah Celsius dan maksimum 27.9 darjah Celsius.

Fenomena suhu sejuk itu berpunca daripada luruan udara sejuk dari Tanah Besar China yang bergerak ke Laut China Selatan, dan keadaan itu biasa terjadi ketika Monsun Timur Laut. – Bernama, 24 Januari, 2014.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

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The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

Wayang kulit, pigs and Islam

Posted: 23 Jan 2014 03:50 PM PST

January 24, 2014

Zan Azlee is a documentary filmmaker, journalist, writer, New Media practitioner and lecturer. He runs Fat Bidin Media www.fatbidin.com

I remember many years ago, I directed a documentary film about Dollah Baju Merah, the last classically trained wayang kulit dalang in Malaysia from Kelantan.

He has since passed on and I was the last person to officially interview him and to document his last wayang kulit performance on camera.

What I remember most about the interview was how he tried to explain to me his relationship with his art using a pig analogy.

During an election year, he thought he was being religious by voting for a religious party (guess what party?), but it ended with him being ostracised for practicing his art.

"Those whom I voted for declared that wayang kulit is haram because it has non-Islamic roots. And whoever practices it is committing a sin," he said.

"But let me explain to you about pigs. A pig is an animal created by God. The pig itself isn't haram. It's just an animal like any other animal in the world.

"The act of eating the pig is actually haram. Do not accuse the pig as being haram and neither should you accuse the person eating the pig. Do you understand what I mean?"

I didn't really understand what Pak Dollah actually meant, but he was old and feeble, and I didn't want to aggravate him so I nodded as if I understood.

It was only after the entire shoot was over and I was back in Kuala Lumpur supervising the post-production and listening back to the interview that I understood.

What Pak Dollah was really trying to say was that whatever action or deed a person does only has meaning based on the person's intentions.

Wayang kulit may be an art that is steeped in Hindu culture (hence, "un-Islamic"), but it depends on how an individual practices it.

If one is a practicing Muslim and practices wayang kulit as an art to express himself, tell stories to entertain people and to comment on social issue, then what's so wrong?

Pak Dollah's wayang kulit shows were very popular because of his brilliant, humorous satire and social commentary that was filled with moral teachings.

He turned an art form that is "un-Islamic" into something totally different and beneficial just by the sincere intentions of the individual practicing it.

And from a famous, celebrated and well-off artist, he was forced to become a struggling rubber tapper once his art was banned and his livelihood taken away from him.

The lesson that I got from Pak Dollah is that we should never be so black-and-white about religion. Sincerity and intentions has always been a cornerstone in Islam.

We should never be too caught up with the do's and the don'ts of a strict and habitual form of faith. It should be so much more than that. – January 24, 2014.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

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Jumaat, 24 Januari 2014