KUGAN'S DEATH IS A MALAYSIAN ISSUE NOT MIC'S ~ MALAYSIAKINI

ITS A MALAYSIAN ISSUE

SINCERELY HOPING FOR A SOLUTION ? , ADDRESS IT AS A MALAYSIAN ISSUE !!! BECAUSE IT IS A ONE!!!
SINCERELY HOPING FOR A FULL STOP FOR ALL THIS ? , STOP USING THIS UNFORTUNATE TRAGEDY FOR SOME CHEAP POLITICAL GAIN !!!

Malaysiakini : Devamany: Don't turn Kugan's death into a racial issue

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department SK Devamany today said the death of Kugan Ananthan should not be turned into a racial issue.He also admonished those who were using the 22-year-old's death for political gain.
"This is not a racial issue and anyone who intends to make it one is being very irresponsible."Using the death of a young man for political gain is The lowest one can go in politics," he said in a statement today without naming anyone in particular.He added that Kugan's death at the hands of the police was a tragedy that warrants a full and transparent investigation.

Manikavasagam bought over by BN???

Malaysiakini headlined Will Mike make good on his threat?
The report states that Kapar MP S Manikavasagam has vowed to quit the opposition PKR. I have credible information that the BN is also fishing for one or two other Indian Opposition MPs. Manuka has certainly being bought over to BN.

He may say he is going to be an Independent MP but the fact is he will be joining IPF.

Umno is slowly killing off MIC. There IPF is used by Umno to attract Indian support for BN. IPF will be the new MIC. MIC and their rebranding is doomed to failure.

CLOSE DOWN ALL TAMIL SCHOOLS ???

Recent figures released by police on the increasing number of Indians involved in gangsterism is a cause for concern.While many has commented on the issue and some even blaming government for not helping and taking action, I hold MIC solely responsible for all the ills in the community.

After all, it is MIC who claims that they are the only party representing the Indian community.MIC leaders have been issuing one statement after another, outlining their strategies and proposed activities only after the issue of gangsterism among Indian youth was highlighted and widely debated in the media. What were they doing all the while?!One of the contributing factors leading Indian youth to gangsterism and other criminal activities is their inability to excel in education, particularly when they enter secondary school.

The new environment and being not conversant in Bahasa Malaysia which is the medium of teaching in secondary school have resulted in students dropping out after their PMR and SPM.The reason this happens is the poor quality of Tamil schools in the country. Most of the Tamil schools in the country are poorly managed, lack facilities and are helmed by substandard headmasters and teachers.Is there really a need for Tamil schools in the country?

What are the pros and cons of being Tamil-educated in this country?Indians may benefit if they are in Tamil Nadu but here in our country, the most one can achieve from being conversant in Tamil is to become a Tamil school teacher. Do Indian parents want this future for their children?I studied in a national school and learnt to read, write and communicate in Tamil without much problem. Isn't that enough?I believe most of the problems would be solved if we were to close all Tamil schools and have children enrolled in the national schools.

This will put them on par with students of other races and not disadvantaged due to poor command of Bahasa Malaysia.Tamil language can still be taught as an alternative but a compulsory subject and classes can be held while agama classes are being conducted for the Muslims. This measure will also help in our aspirations of seeing a united "Bangsa Malaysia" in the future.

MIC should stop pointing fingers and seriously think for the future generations of Indians in this country. It is not enough just to claim to be the only party representing the Indians.I ask Indians, especially those who are Tamil-educated, to come forward and support this view.

MIC no longer relevant ~ Malaysiakini

I refer to the Malaysiakini report Victory is mine, says Samy's challenger.
Both Samy Vellu and Muthupalaniappan and kidding themselves and seem to be engrossed in "making belief" and hoping against hope that the Indian community is still supporting them lock stock and barrel.

The truth, and everyone in Malaysia knows this, is MIC is history. Indian Malaysians do not need this one time off-shoot of the Indian Congress party to champion their cause. Simply because they never did anyway.

Take a look at the party, there are so many Indian professionals in Malaysia, respected professionals who would prefer to stay miles away from MIC than be associated with it or its dubious projects.

Look at the Telecom and Metrod share controversy and the very state of Maika which was incorporated with the hard-earned blood money of the Indians in Malaysia. Will any decent Malaysian, let alone an Indian Malaysian professional, ever want to be part of such horrendous schemes and be associated with such people?

Muthupalniappan and other MIC members who were in the party then and now cannot expect to convince Indian Malaysians that they will ever be different. They should have stood up to the leadership under the pain of dismissal from the party if they had ever wanted to be counted as credible politicians.

Indian Malaysians have decided to forget these race-based politics, they demonstrated this at the last elections, and in so doing, voted in more Indians into Parliament and the state assemblies than MIC ever had.

What has the MIC or anyone in the MIC done to address the great injustice of what happened to Hindraf and its long-suffering members? Why are they being treated like terrorists?
All Samy and MIC as a whole can do is appeal to Umno, and be hoodwinked into believing that they are equal partners in the ruling coalition.

These component BN members are a disgrace. Take Kayveas for example. He threatened to pull out, the prime minister told him that he was welcome to go, then complete silence. This is what BN partners are used to: being downtrodden and bullied. Podah Samy Vellu!

Devil Anwar & Pakatan Rakyat betrayed the people

NUDE WAR AGAINST DEVIL ANWAR / PR
As reported in a tamil daily makkal osai, YB Murugiah , deputy minister ( public complaint bureau) claimed that since march 2008, his bureau received the highest number of complaints from 5 Pakatan states.

Malaysiakini highlights - Selangor government's 'failure' to address the plight of the poor in the state with a CUTE headline... 'Nude war' declared on 'devil' Anwar

The People's Reform Movement (Reformis) has declared a 'nude war' against Pakatan Rakyat supremo Anwar Ibrahim.In a hard-hitting press conference in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon, its president Ramlan Abu Bakar said the opposition leader must take responsibility for the Selangor government's 'failure' to address the plight of the poor in the state.Previously, Reformis had declared a 'nude war' against Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim and had threatened to strip naked and "stalk" him.According to Ramlan, the opposition alliance had failed to fulfill the promises in its March 8 election manifesto."Anwar must be responsible for what Khalid has done in oppressing the people of Selangor," he said, but declined to reveal when the 'war' would be launched."If we reveal the details, then it would be a conventional war," added the president, who claimed to be a PKR member.

An emotionally-charged Ramlan also challenged Anwar and Khalid to debate with him on the allegation that the Selangor government had failed the poor."I would only need an hour, 30 minutes to talk about the problems faced by the poor who are marginalised in a developed state, which is called a welfare state," he said.As for he date of the debate, Ramlan said he would leave it to Anwar to decide. "It is up to him. Because he is busy, we would be fair to him."Asked if Anwar should quit as the PKR de facto leader if the party failed to fix the problems, he replied: "Quitting is not the issue. If he is a man of dignity, he should assume this responsibility."

Resigning would be the last resort, stressed Ramlan, who also delved into history to talk about how Anwar had championed the cause of the poor in Baling, Kedah, in 1974 but "failed to do so when he became deputy prime minister."'Liar and hypocrite'Without mincing his words, the Reformis president labelled the opposition leader as a “liar, hypocrite and the devil incarnate”.Ramlan claimed that he had informed Anwar to "fix Khalid's leadership" but he failed to do so and continues to remain "silent" on the matter.As for the opposition front's manifesto, Ramlan said Pakatan Rakyat had only managed to fulfill four or five of its 31 promises.

As long as these promises were not fulfilled, the Reformis president stressed that the ‘nude war’ would continue.Ramlan also launched a scathing attack against PKR representatives in Selangor, whom he said carried their honorific 'Yang Berhomat' titles more like 'Yang Berlagak' and 'Yang Bongkak'.Asked why he chose this method of putting his grouses across instead of using the party channels, Roslan said: "These people cannot be coaxed, cannot be pleaded with and cannot discuss with.""This is the method of gangsters, so we had to become bigger gangsters, only then would they accept. Only when we threatened to strip naked, he (the menteri besar) wants to resolve the problems," he added.Flanked by 10 supporters, Roslan's fiery remarks at a sepak takraw court located in the heart of a low-cost flat complex in Sentul also drew a crowd of onlookers.

picture source : Thanks to http://tunkuaisha.blogspot.com

The Great MIC Lie Called Re-branding - Ref: Malaysiakini

Re-BRANDING MIC - The re-branding is futile? (6)

Re-branding MIC -setting the record straight
by MIC communications team in malaysiakini

If one has any sense of belonging to the community, the bare minimum they can do is to oppose any dumb initiative that supposedly is helping that particular community. Are we are heading towards total success and are we are seeing leaders emerging from the so-called re-branding exercise recharged, re-ignited and re-vitalized??? We are actually moving into Samy Vellu's dark ass with this 're-branding' of MIC.

Irrespective of what MIC says, we must reject this stupid re-branding and transformation of MIC as the Party and it's leaders best pack up and leave. We can continue to encourage and implement the agenda of the Indians in this country while we strive to co-exist in harmony with the other races with Pakatan Rakyat. The re-branding exercise by MIC is doomed to failure.

We would like to reiterate that MIC's re-branding exercise is nothing but bullshit!!! The methodology employed is flwed. It consists of a variety of useless strategic components and the strategies underlining the re-branding have not been carefully thought out to benefit the community. Let's tell MIC enough is enough. Stop foling the Indians with this re-branding bullshit. Just get lost!!!

YOGA IS COMPATIBLE WITH ISLAM??? ~ malaysiakini

ISLAM & YOGA : COMPATIBILITY ON THE HIGHEST LEVEL

http://mutaligat.blogspot.com/2008/12/perokok-dalam-bahaya-ref-malaysiakini.html
A comparative study of congruence between two traditions as posted in http://www.crescentlife.com/wellness/islam_and_yoga.htm

"We always find some form of Yoga whenever the goal is experience of the sacred or the attainment of a perfect self-mastery, which is itself the first step toward magical mastery of the world. It is a fact of considerable significance that the noblest mystical experiences, as well as the most daring magical desires, are realized through yogic technique, or, more precisely, that Yoga can equally well adapt itself to either path." — Mircea Eliade, Yoga: Immortality and Freedom

There are close similarities between Islam and yoga not because of borrowing or cultural diffusion, but because of both originating in the Primordial Tradition, sanâtana dharma, al-dîn al-hanîf, which all the prophets of Allah have brought and reaffirmed throughout the ages, among all nations, revealed directly from the Creator.

Years ago when young I began doing hatha yoga. Although several years passed without practicing yoga, the complete yoga breathing I learned from it was a constant presence in my life. There was also my Islamic life, including praying salât five times every day. A couple years ago I returned to yoga while keeping up my Islamic practice. How are these two developments related? How do they interact?

When I returned to the practice of yoga, I found that it is easily integrated with the Islamic life; in fact the two assist one another. Not only is there no conflict, but Islam and yoga together make a mutually beneficial synergy. Both are agreed that, while the body is important as a vehicle on the way to spiritual realization and salvation, the human being's primary identity is not with the body but with the eternal Spirit.

This is not a case of syncretism between two religions (which would be spiritually invalid). Yoga is not a religion. Rather, it is a set of techniques and skills that enhance the practice of any religion. A French author named Jean Déchanet discovered this in regard to his Catholic faith and wrote the book Christian Yoga (New York: Harper, 1960). In my case, I have found that Islamic yoga is a reality. It is possible to employ the skills of yoga to worship Allah better and to be a better Muslim.

Yoga arose from the matrix of the Hindu world, although according to Mircea Eliade it is of pre-Hindu origin and can be traced back to prehistoric shamanism. Like India's other gifts to world civilization, for example the system of place notation on which all mathematics depends, yoga is not tied to the Hindu religion but has a universal applicability. It helps one to follow one's own religion better whatever that may be. It has certain specific affinities with Islam that make for an interesting study.

1. Metaphysical Doctrine.

Since the metaphysic of Advaita Vedanta is in agreement with the tawhîd (doctrine of oneness) of Islam, there is perfect compatibility between Islam and yoga on the highest level. All traditional esoterisms agree that everything in manifestation has its origin in the Supernal. The manifestations on the material plane are derived from the ideational realm of archetypes (known as al-a‘yân al-thâbitah in the metaphysics of Ibn al-‘Arabî). This world, limited as it is, is just an expression of the ultimate Reality, and will ultimately be reabsorbed in its supernal Origin. Advaita Vedanta and Islamic esoteric metaphysics are agreed that God is the only absolutely real, eternal Reality; all else is contingent and therefore transitory. The unitary view of reality in Advaita Vedanta accords well with the tawhîd (divine oneness) of Islam, and the Oneness of Being in the Sufi doctrine of Ibn al-‘Arabî.

It is interesting to compare the symbolism of Prophet Muhammad's nighttime ascent to Heaven, al-Mi‘râj, with the corresponding symbolism in yoga. The Prophet ascended on al-Burâq, a riding beast with the head of a woman, through the seven heavens to the Throne of God. In yoga, the kuNDalinî is a feminine power (shakti) that dwells at the base of the spine and ascends through seven levels (represented by the seven chakras) to the summit of liberation (brahmarandhra).

2. Salât and Âsanas.

One of the most obvious correspondences between Islam and hatha yoga is the resemblance of salât to the physical exercises of yoga âsanas. An Indian Muslim author, Ashraf F. Nizami, noted this in his book Namaz, the Yoga of Islam (Bombay: D.B. Taraporevala, 1977). The root meaning of the word salât is 'to bend the lower back', as in hatha yoga; the Persians translated this concept with the word namâz, from a verbal root meaning 'to bow', etymologically related to the Sanskrit word namaste. The thousands of postures and variations known to hatha yoga can be classified into a few basic types, including standing postures, spinal stretches, inverted postures, seated postures, and spinal twists. The genius of Islamic salât is to incorporate all of these in rudimentary form into a compact, flowing sequence, ensuring a thorough, all-round course of exercises for good health that is easy for everyone to practice.

a) Standing.

The Mountain Pose (TâDâsana) is the foundation for all standing âsanas. One always begins from this and returns to it at the completion of the standing sequence. In this it very closely resembles not only the standing posture of qiyâm in salât, but also the "Return to Mountain" of T‘ai Chi Ch‘uan. Standing in Mountain Pose or qiyâm is a quiescent exercise for the whole body: feet, legs, and spine working together. With one's feet planted squarely on Earth and one's head reaching toward Heaven, this pose is of the finest metaphysical significance to the sacredness of the human state, for verticality is the essence of religion.

b) Spinal stretching.

As the yogis say, one is as young as one's spine. Hatha yoga concentrates much careful attention on deep, thorough stretches of the spine, bringing the head forward to rest on the knees. Since all the nerves of the body are channeled from the spinal cord out between the vertebrae, a healthy spine is of central importance for the well-being of the whole human body and mind. It takes much patient, persistent practice to make and keep the spine ideally flexible, and only the most dedicated yogis succeed in this. Since Islam is a path for everyone, the Islamic spinal stretch is kept easy and within everyone's reach: the bowing position called rukû‘ only requires that you bend forward enough to place your hands on your knees. Nonetheless, even this minimal stretch helps keep the spine in good condition. When I returned to yoga after praying salât for several years, I found that making rukû‘ seventeen times a day had beautifully prepared my spine for deeper forward stretches.

c) Inverted poses.

The heart does its best to circulate blood all through the veins and arteries, but it's a demanding job, and exercise is needed to help the circulation go at maximum efficiency. In particular, raising fresh blood to the brain through the carotid artery, and lifting it from the feet back up to the heart, is always going against the pull of gravity. This is why two of the most important and beneficial âsanas are the Shoulderstand (sarvangâsana, the 'whole body pose') and the Headstand (sirSâsana). Islamic prayer has taken the most essential aspect of these inverted poses: lowering the head below the heart. The position called sujûd is easy for everyone to accomplish and helps to bathe the brain in fresh oxygenated blood to keep it healthy and alert. Ashraf F. Nizami writes: "This may be termed similar to … HALF SIRSHASANA. It helps full-fledged pumping of blood into the brain and upper half of the body including eyes, ears, nose and lungs."

d) Seated postures.

The word âsana means 'seat' and the basic postures for meditation are seated ones, especially the Lotus. The Diamond Pose (vajrâsana) is practically identical with the seated position of salât called jalsah. This has, of course, not escaped the notice of both yogis and Muslims in India. Nizami writes: "This is a HARDY POSE or is like VAJRASANA." Swami Sivananda in his book Yoga Asanas writes: "This Asana resembles more or less the Nimaz pose in which the Muslims sit for prayer." Furthermore, both vajrâsana and jalsah are the same as the zazen posture of Japan. Having practiced a little yoga when young, it became easier for me to sit on the floor in mosques for long stretches of time. In turn, accustomed to this in Islam over the years, it was then much easier to learn seated yoga postures like the Lotus, since my leg and hip joints were accustomed to the floor.

When sitting in the Lotus, a yoga mudra that accompanies meditation is made by forming the index finger and thumb into a circle. The Islamic mudra, made while sitting in jalsah, is to extend the index finger in a straight line (to attest to the Oneness of God), while forming the thumb and middle finger into a circle. The figure 1 and the figure 0 can convey a Tantric symbolism, and also are curiously similar to the binary 1 and 0 of computer science.

e) Spinal twists.

A session of yoga practice normally concludes, just before final relaxation, with a thorough twist of the whole spine (ardha matsyendrâsana) to the right and to the left. It helps to even out the spine from the other poses it has done and keep everything balanced. In much the same way, salât concludes with the prayer of peace (salâm) said while turning the head to the right and then to the left. This works only the cervical and maybe a few of the thoracic vertebrae, but it is useful for keeping the neck flexible and is consistent with the pattern in salât of presenting reduced versions of the yoga âsanas.

3. Breathing.

In yoga, the science and art of breathing is paramount. The relaxation and exertion of all the members of the body, the stilling and concentration of the mind, the energizing of the whole being, and the access to the spiritual dimension all depend on breathing. In most languages of the world, the words for 'breathing' and 'spirit' are the same or closely related. The Arabic word for 'spirit' is rûh, coming from a root with several interconnected meanings: 'to relax', 'to breathe', and 'to set out moving'. The full range of these meanings, taken together, summarizes all the functions of the breath in Yoga. The Sanskrit word corresponding to rûh is âtman, which also comes from an Indo-European root meaning 'breath' (compare the High German word Atem, 'breath').

The spiritual importance of breath is a part of Islam's teachings. Hazrat Inayat Khan writes on the subject of Islamic purification: "Man's health and inspiration both depend on purity of breath, and to preserve this purity the nostrils and all the tubes of the breath must be kept clear. They can be kept clear by proper breathing and proper ablutions. If one cleanses the nostrils twice or oftener it is not too much, for a Moslem is taught to make this ablution five times, before each prayer." According to Hakim G. M. Chishti in The Book of Sufi Healing, "Life, from its beginning to end, is one continuous set of breathing practices. The Holy Qur’an, in addition to all else it may be, is a set of breathing practices."

4. Meditation and Worship.

In part 23 of the Yoga Sutra, Patañjali teaches the attainment of supreme spiritual realization through devotion to God (îsvara pranidhana). The sutra is a very succinct, condensed type of literature, so a single brief mention suffices. Because Patañjali did not elaborate upon it, some commentators have assumed that his God is a mere figurehead or abstraction and therefore not so important in yoga practice. Nothing could be further from the truth; in fact, the one feature that distinguishes the metaphysic of the Yoga darsana from that of the Sankhya darsana of Kapila (a non-theistic analysis of the elements in the cosmos and consciousness) is the presence of God in Yoga. This makes all the difference, and allows the consonance of Yoga with religion.

Patañjali wisely chose to refer to God as îsvara, which in Sanskrit simply means 'God, the Supreme Being' and does not name any deity of any particular religion. This universality frees Yoga from conflict with any religious doctrine, so that its techniques can be applied by a believer of any faith. In India, Yoga has been applied to a vast variety of different religious perspectives, and it works just as well for other religions including Islam. There is nothing specifically Hindu or Islamic about its techniques, but it will assist the devotee in any kind of worship. Yoga means to concentrate and still the mind; when this concentration is directed upon God, the yogi is reaching toward the heart of his religion.

As for meditation, trâTaka is a yogic technique to focus the attention and attain one-pointedness. It consists of fixing the gaze on a single point. (It assists balance, too.) While standing in Islamic prayer, we practice traTaka by fixing the gaze on a spot on the ground where the forehead rests in sujûd. During rukû‘, the trâTaka is directed at the point between the big toes. The purpose is to focus the attention on the prayer and keep it from wandering. In this way it helps lead to a meditative state.

An important part of Sufi spiritual practice is to invoke the Divine Name Allâh and meditate upon it. Once I had learned through yoga how to still the mind and focus the attention, I discovered that the same technique greatly sharpened and clarified my meditation on the Divine Name. It was like a nearsighted person putting on glasses and suddenly seeing clearly and sharply. Some Sufi orders practice meditation and invocation focused within certain centers (latâ’if) in the subtle body; this is the same technique as the yogic meditation upon the chakras.

5. Purification.

It goes without saying that both Islam and yoga require basic physical and moral cleanliness and purity (tahârah, sauca) before performing their practices. The two differ in several respects, but one feature that is common to both is using water to rinse the breathing passages: a yoga kriya (cleansing practice) called jala neti consists of pouring water into one nostril so that it flows through the sinuses and out the other nostril. The Muslim when making wudû’ takes water up the nose and blows it out; this is called istinshâ’. Again, the Islamic version does not go as deep, being simplified to make it easily accessible to everyone.

6. Food.

The Ayurvedic principles of yogic diet and the hadiths of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) are agreed that milk and ghee are beneficial, and that beef is detrimental to health. Likewise, both discourage eating onions and garlic. Ginger (Arabic zanjabîl, from Sanskrit srngivera, from Proto-Dravidian ciñci vêr) is mentioned in the Qur’ân (76:17) as a spice of Paradise. Ayurveda regards ginger as sâttvika, a quality helpful to spiritual life. Both Ayurveda and the Qur’ân tell of the spiritual qualities of the basil plant, the sacred basil (Ocimum sanctum) called tulasi in Sanskrit and the sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) called rayhân in the Qur’ân (while the Italians value it only for its culinary qualities!). Tulasi basil is used to uplift, clear, and invigorate the mind, assisting the consciousness to focus on spiritual thoughts; rayhân is mentioned in the Qur’ân (55:12) as a plant of Paradise, and the Prophet recommended it to his Companions for its refreshing aromatherapy. The Arabic word rayhân is derived from the same root as rûh 'spirit'.

Historical Interaction.

In historical time, Muslims did consciously borrow from yoga and acknowledged the source. The traveling scholar Abu Rayhan al-Biruni (11th century) translated the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali into Arabic. Shah Muhammad Ghaus of Gwalior (16th century), a leader of the Shattârîyah order of Sufis, incorporated yoga practices into his teaching, based on the yogic text AmrtakuNDa. Yoga even reached as far as North Africa, where al-Sanusi (19th century) wrote of the yoga âsanas (jalsah); he referred to yoga in Arabic as "al-Jûjîyah". However, the congruences between yoga and Islam that I noted above are not historical borrowings, but derive from the primordial beginnings of the traditions.

A large international yoga organization, 3HO, has adopted the sujûd from Islamic prayer, calling it "Easy Yoga."

Conclusion.

It can be valid and beneficial for Muslims to learn yoga, not as their spiritual path per se, but as a valuable adjunct to the spiritual path of Islam. Islam is a complete, integral spiritual path, so yoga is no substitute for any Islamic requirement. The Prophet said that wisdom is the believer's stray camel: wherever he finds it he will recognize it (and claim his right to it).

How to explain the many points of correspondence between yoga and Islam? Did these ancient teachings travel from India to Arabia? No—there is no need to assume such a horizontal transfer; the sacred truths are revealed vertically from Heaven to all peoples.

There are close similarities between Islam and yoga not because of borrowing or cultural diffusion, but because of both originating in the Primordial Tradition, sanâtana dharma, al-dîn al-hanîf, which all the prophets of Allah have brought and reaffirmed throughout the ages, among all nations, revealed directly from the Creator.

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