Dear all,

Wishing all, “A Prosperous and Happy CNY of Earth Pig, GONG XI FA CAI”

Remember to enjoy the reunion dinner with all the extended family members and togetherness time to reaffirm love and caring that bind all together as FAMILY unit. While you are at your home town make a delightful trip down the memory line, the nostalgia of good old time: the old photo, the familiar road, sundry shops, roadside stalls, coffee shops, shopping center, arcades coin-op game center, old cinema, old school, field you play football, court you practice badminton, place you hang up with friends, old friends, old schoolmates, old sweethearts or girls you admire secretly and etc.

I will definitely enjoy my CNY, hometown atmosphere and togetherness time with the whole family. So please allow me to share an old post dated: 31/1/2017 posted in chedet.cc on how I spend my 2017 CNY. http://chedet.cc/?p=2419#comment-137298

Dear Tun Dr. Mahathir,

First of all my heartfelt gratitude to Tun for wishing all Malaysian Chinese; “A Prosperous and Happy Year of the Rooster, KONG HEE FATT CHOY.”

Prior to the Chinese New Year holidays, I attended a tea party organized by my secretary in Medan, Indonesia. I lead my staffs, all clad in red shirt for a video recording wishing all the people, “Kami dari PT. MM mengucapkan Selamat Tahun Baru Cina … Gong Xi, Gong Xi, Gong Xi. Fa Cai, Fa Cai, Fa Cai.” Later I asked my staffs did they really know the origin and meaning of Gong Xi Fa Cai. Some answered it is just an auspicious greetings for the Chinese New Year.

I explained, literally Gong Xi Fa Cai means: “Congratulations and be Prosperous”. Chinese New Year/Lunar New Year or Spring Festival marks the end of the winter season where people emerge from the harsh winter of freezing temperature; the first word they said to each other is “Congratulation!  You had survived another year.” The end of winter also signify the beginning of Spring where everything spring back to life, thus it is the time all activities start;  be it land cultivation, construction, trading, business and etc. This is the opportune time for all to put in the hard work and be successful in whatever they are undertaking hence the greeting of “be prosperous”.

As usual my family and my siblings spend the Chinese New Year in our Alor Star home with our mother where we have our reunion dinner on the eve of New Year. On the New Year morning we paid our respect to our late father at Wat Siam Padang Sera, Kubang Pasu, Kedah. We then visit our elder relatives where we exchanged Ang Pow (Red envelope) with their unmarried children. For this year we came out with a new itinerary. We adjourned to Gunong Jerai and spend the New Year first night at Gunung Jerai Regency Resort. We checked into eight inter-connected rooms and enjoyed the “together time.” At the dining tables we shared tales of our previous year endeavours and plans for our new year. Mum is in her happiest mode having all her children and grandchildren around her and I strongly believe my late father is watching and smiling from above. The million dollar question will surely pop up to all grandsons passing the traditional marriage age of 25 (eldest already touching 30)  and mum will be bemoaning when will she becomes a great grandmother.

Dear Tun Dr. Mahathir,

My childhood memory of celebrating our diversity in New Year celebration which I extract from my memoir looks so near, yet so far now;

As children we looked forward for each festival as during Hari Raya my father would bring back packets of Malay delicacies from his customers. We children will scour the packets in search of the most wanted “Ketupat”. During Deepavali our Indian neighbours would give us the best Indian delicacies and during Chinese New Year my mother would reciprocate with the kueh bakul, kueh kapit, bahulu and others. I don’ see that anymore these days. Sharing of self prepared festivities foods had been turned into a sensitive issue on the basic of food preparation. (Haram /Halal)  Thus the only melting pot nowadays is at politician’s open house, which make me wonders is it by design.

What have happened Tun?

I had re-read Tun’s book; “A Doctor in the House”

Chapter 36:  Islam and Islamisation.

Tun had explained in length the golden era of Islamic Civilisation, where Islam emphasized on the need to read (Iqraq). Thus early Muslims apparently read the works of the Greeks, the Indian, the Chinese and the Persians. More than that, they carried out their own researches to add up to their body of knowledge in many fields. It was well documented that Muslim scholars are the one who pioneered astronomy, algebra, the study of disease and medicine, celestial navigation, and more.

For centuries, Muslims were well ahead of other civilisation in the mastery of the sciences, medicine and mathematics. But around the Fifteenth century, new interpretations began to spread, saying that (Iqraq) referred to the reading and acquisition of religious knowledge only. And unfortunately, Muslims and their religious teachers stress more on “fardhu ‘ain” (the performance of prayers, fasting, alms-giving and the Haj) which earns merit only for oneself is more important in the afterlife than the “fardhu kifayah”, the injunction which required that Muslim communities must have among them individually whose ability and actions will serve in the defend and promotion of the welfare of their communities and of Islam itself.

Almost immediately after such teaching, the Muslim civilisation regressed whereas the European Christians, who were then living in the Dark Ages, noticed the superiority of Muslim civilisation and decided to acquire the knowledge of the Muslim. They learnt Arabic and studied scientific and other books in the great libraries of the Muslim world and make translation first into Latin and then into other European language. Thus the European Christians rapid advancement in science and technology and with their much-improved weaponry, they were able to project their power in many Muslim lands and to the Far East.

On Chapter 58: Education

Although I was Minister of Education, the details of the Islamic syllabus were determined by Pusat Islam.

Unfortunately, the syllabus that was adopted neglected instruction in the Islamic way of life and its character-building values (ad-din). Emphasis was instead placed largely on the proper performance of the rituals. Islam was taught as a religion of ritual, of dos and don’ts of formalistic requirements and prohibitions, not as a religion of far-reaching human and moral responsibility, not as a way of life. Worse, many of the Islamic religious teachers were supporters of PAS, who took opportunity — and abused their position and public trust — to implant political creed and outlook into the minds of their young students.

Although religious teachers were of junior status in most school, they were powerful. Even the head teachers dared not discipline them for fear of being accused of failing to respect religion.

Dear Tun Dr. Mahathir,

One of Tun’s old friend and former business partner Mr. Koon Yew Yin had call for opposition

parties to stand firm and to reject PAS if it insist on the hard line condition of support for RUU 355 before any kind of opposition electoral understanding is arrived at. Will Tun please support him?

www.koonyewyin.com/2017/01/29/stand-firm-against-pas-under-hadi/

In retrospect, Tun’s declaration that Malaysia was an Islamic Country had opened a Pandora box for hardliner conservatives PAS to demand eventually a Shariah law as opposed to our Rukun Negara and our Constitution. As non-Muslim Malaysians we are told we have no say in Islamic Affair or being accused of failing to respect Islam as our Federal Religion if we were to oppose the RUU355.

In Tun’s own words, Quran advocates an Islamic community and not an Islamic country. In the Quran it is not the punishment that is stressed. Indeed Muslims are enjoined to forgive and be merciful. Unfortunately many “learned” Muslims are not quite happy with tolerance as taught by the Quran. They would prefer Islam to be stricter, more severe punishments (believing that the only thing that would qualify a country as Muslim is if we decapitate and chop off the hand of criminals. But that is an arbitrary criterion) and violently opposed to other religions. In fact a very learned mufti once told me that other than Islam, there is no other religion. I found this very disturbing.

Yes, Indeed very disturbing, with RUU355 up for debate in Parliament in the coming parliament session. What will be the outcome? Where will it lead Malaysia to?

May god have mercy on us all?

Yours truly,

SS LEE

With MUM, brothers, sister and family members at Gunong Jerai

Having tea party with staffs celebrating coming of CNY