Concerns raised by Rulers timely, say moderates

PETALING JAYA: Moderates have welcomed the concerns raised by the Malay Rulers about the country’s unity and harmony, hailing them as being timely.

Wednesday, 11 Oct 2017

Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) chairman Tan Sri Razali Ismail said the recent actions and statements in the name of Islam, which have the effects of portraying Islam as an intolerant and factious religion, contradicted the aspirations of the Federal Constitution and the Rukunegara.

“This injunction by the Malay Rulers reaffirms the dignity of every Malaysian and underlines the country’s unwavering commitment towards a more inclusive nation.

“Suhakam calls on individuals and other interest groups to stop acting against the spirit of tolerance, which can result in confusion and disunity, and to seriously take heed of the Rulers’ statement and injunction,” Razali said.

“Malaysia’s diversity of its people, especially in the context of racial heritage, religion and all the attendant diversities must not merely be 'tolerated' by everyone but must be accepted as a given and therefore respected.

“We have no place for any holier-than-thou attitude nor for any superiority complex in any context,” said the former international trade and industry minister.

Rafidah said each person must be allowed to keep their own faith, adding that Islam invokes Muslims to subscribe to the principles of moderation.

“More importantly, no one should make our diversity a political capital in order to win the support of the gallery, and to achieve personal or group or base ulterior motives.

“Every Malaysian should be the best person possible, and those doing it now, must stop being his or her brother’s and sister’s keeper,” she said.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Joseph Kurup said the actions by extremists and bigots are destructive and not conducive to nation-building.

“We will continue to implement various programmes to strengthen unity in our multi-religious and multi-ethnic society based on the Federal Constitution and the five principles of the Rukun Negara.

“It is desirable for all Malaysians to pay heed to the noble advice of our Rulers which is to inculcate among ourselves the concept of tolerance and acceptance,” he said.

Zubedy founder Anas Zubedy said he was glad that the Rulers raised the issue.

“We have to pay attention to the ambition and goals of the Rukun Negara.

“Recently, I have been promoting the idea that we have to bring the Rukun Negara to the forefront, and make sure we use its ambitions and principles as our parameters, regardless of whether you are a politician, business leader, religious leader or citizen,” he added.

Moderation advocate Tawfik Ismail said while the Rulers are the heads of religion in their respective states, it appears that in the last few years, politicians have ignored the Rulers’ powers over religion.

The son of Malaysia’s second deputy prime minister, Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman, added that the level of tolerance among Malaysians is quite high and that people are too busy making a living to worry about the rhetoric.

Islamic Renaissance Front chairman Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa said that part of the preamble to the Rukunegara clearly states liberal value. 

However, “liberal” has been demonised to mean areligious and decadent, he said.

“This part of the preamble can be translated as: ‘Guaranteeing a liberal approach towards her rich and varied cultural traditions’.

“The word ‘liberal’ is used in the context of something positive and beneficial to Malaysia’s ambitions to becoming a united, happy and prosperous country.

“When we demonise a dignified terminology, this is what we are witnessing – a society that has become intolerant to diverse opinions and lifestyles; a society that has difficulty in embracing multiculturalism and plurality,” he said.

Related stories:

Praise for Johor Sultan and Perlis Raja Muda

Rulers want harmony

Jakim officer faces action over speech criticising Johor Sultan

Netizens: Now up to Govt to do the right thing

Read more at http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/10/11/concerns-raised-by-rulers-timely-say-moderates

These 2 Questions Will Help You Stand Out in an Interview

As a VC, I try to understand what's really happening behind the scenes at start-ups from a similar perspective. And I need to find out quickly.

I've learned you can can find out a lot about the real prospects of a prospective company, that you can't otherwise scour from the web or from standard interview Q&A, from just two slightly (only slightly) nonstandard questions:

#1. What will the company look like in a year? From any and all perspectives — product, people, team, revenue? You'd be surprised how well you can discriminate a team that has true vision and their act together from one that doesn't just by the answer here. Is it rambling? It is delusional? Does it all make sense and tie to the data and learnings you have so far?

Take it out more than a year, it's just Powerpoint-level. Take it in 90 days, that's just tomorrow.

But you're being hired really to make an impact 9-12 months out. The answer will help you learn a lot.

#2. What do I need to accomplish in my first 90-120 days to be a success and have an impact? You'd be surprised how many hirers can't answer this question. They just want to fill a slot. Is that all you want? Or do you want to have an impact? If it's a great opportunity, they'll know exactly how someone great (a great sales rep, a great engineer, a great customer success) can move the needle — at least some needle — and make an impact within 90 days.

And if you listen a lot to these answers, I think you'll also get a sense of the inherent quality of the company beyond what you can tell from AngelList and TechCrunch.

Go Columbo style. Ask these two leading questions.

They work for me.

This question originally appeared on Quora: 

• What are great questions to ask about a startup company during a job interview?

More from Quora:

• When should a startup get acquired?
• What are the best ways to answer the question, "Tell me something about yourself?"
• May I reject questions during a job interview?

Answer by Jason M. Lemkin, co-founder and CEO of EchoSign, on Quora.

http://time.com/3834976/2-interview-questions/

MUST READ: Get down to the real job

Malaysia should deal with actual problems instead of manufacturing fear and threats. 

Sunday, 1 Oct 2017

 

Zainah Anwar

THE Malaysian Government better get its message right, fast. Just a week ago, the Foreign Minister told the UN General Assembly that Malaysia plans to introduce a resolution to “negate the propagation of extremism and radicalisation”; that a Global Movement of Moderates (GMM) should “douse the flame of hatred and stem the influence of extreme and myopic ideas of intolerance, xenophobia and racial hatred”.

He went on to state: “It is imperative for communities of different race, religion and culture to band together in seeking common peaceful aspirations and celebrate our diversity rather than be influenced, and enticed into extremist traps.”

Alas, on home ground, extreme and myopic displays of intolerance wreak havoc day after day. And this supposedly moderate government remains silent or is complicit.

First was the ban on the annual Better Beer Festival. City Hall said the decision was made “due to the political sensitivity surrounding the event”.

PAS had claimed such a festival was an affront to the religious sensitivities of the Muslims, would encourage immorality and lead to criminal acts, free sex and rape. And to boot, it would turn Kuala Lumpur into the vice capital of Asia! Never mind the lack of evidence.

This festival has taken place the last five years, and the little Napoleons in City Hall never saw it fit to first investigate the validity of the complaint before slapping the ban.

The outrage caused perhaps led the police to state that it was cancelled on security grounds as some militants planned to sabotage the event.

However, the Immigration director-general immediately undermined this reasoning by announcing that the Deputy Prime Minister had instructed him not to allow individuals to enter the country for the beer festival and a gay party.

What gay party? No one seems to know.

Perhaps the strategy was to manufacture yet another threat to the sensitivities of easily offended Muslims.

But we, the thinking rakyat, wondered how the Immigration Department, supposedly working together with Jakim, would identify these “undesirables” arriving at 137 entry points and serve them with the “Not To Land” notice? By the size of their beer bellies? Tattoos on their arms and legs? Sleeveless T-shirts and earrings in one ear? Pray tell.

Ah, but we are not supposed to question, challenge, think or use logic.

I wish they would also find answers and take serious action in dealing with the many social ills that afflict Kelantan disproportionately – drug addiction, incest, HIV/AIDS, deadbeat husbands and fathers.

It could very well be the vice capital of Malaysia – except that these vices are hidden from public view or take place across the border or out at sea.

And oh, how about dealing with the endless cycle of poverty?

Kelantan remains the poorest state in the country with a GDP per capita of only RM12,812. Even, Kedah, the second poorest state has a per capita income 50% higher.

See, if we are serious and sincere about caring for Islam, we will do more to deal with real problems taking place, instead of manufacturing threats and insults. Obviously, this PAS action is about politics, not Islam.

Then came the viral video of a man dressed in Arab-style jubah and skull-cap lecturing patrons at a coffeeshop on the sensitivities of the Muslim majority residents in Flora Damansara. No drugs, no alcohol, no sex, no “bare” dress, please, we are Muslims.

I wish they would show the same concern for Muslim teenagers, neglected by parents with no time, no money, no parental skills to bring them up with love and guidance, the dropouts, the drug addicts, the Mat Rempit.

Could their needs be met in more constructive and healthy ways at the community level? Could the mosque committee and the residents association be mobilised to provide support to neglected and troubled teenagers? Could the fire at the tahfiz in Kuala Lumpur be prevented if there had been more healthy community engagement with these delinquent teenagers, many of whom come from broken homes, obviously in need of support?

And if this was not enough, then came the viral post of a launderette in Muar that banned non-Muslims from using its facilities.

The owner said he was only trying to be a good Muslim; totally ignorant of the racial and religious slur such an action constitutes in a world where the gross injustices of apartheid in South Africa and segregation in southern United States, racial profiling, discrimination and exclusion on the basis of one’s skin colour or one’s religion remain topics of heated debate.

Right-minded Malaysians got worked up because we do not want to see our country plunge deeper into a black hole of segregation over race and religion.

To top it all, on Monday came the news that the renowned Turkish scholar and writer, Mustafa Akyol, was detained for speaking without a permit by the religious authorities.

All this bad news in a supposedly moderate Muslim country that wants to lead the world in a global movement to end intolerance, extremism and racial hatred?

All these events lead me to ask yet again, where and how did these Muslims study their Islam? How could someone who lives in a multi-racial society think that his big loud notice that non-Muslims are not welcome into his shop was him just being a “good Muslim”, and would not cause offence to those he has excluded for their lack of cleanliness on the basis of their religion.

How could a religion that teaches its adherents to seek knowledge – even if it was in China, that absorbed Greek logic into its tradition and exported it to the Latin West, that embraces pluralism and demands its believers to think and reflect, be so abused today that its adherents cannot deal with differences and diversity?

How could a country that had once embraced pluralism, that sells “Malaysia Truly Asia” to the world in recognition and celebration of the wealth that its diversity brings, create a space and a climate where bigotry rears its ugly head, seemingly on a daily basis?

The truth is new norms are deliberately and strategically being created to manufacture fear and insecurity for political gain.

Just look at the seminars organised by various units under Jakim on the threat of liberalism and pluralism and deviant thinking.

Taxpayers’ money is being used to preach intolerance and hatred and no one in authority is monitoring this, not even the GMM Secretariat that wants to export its moderation.

The Sultan of Johor’s immediate intervention that there is no place for such extremism in the state of Johor is critical. Someone in authority needs to speak out to stop this headlong plunge into racial and religious apartheid.

Perhaps the Sultans, as the heads of Islam and symbol of unity in their respective states, will provide the urgent leadership needed to take principled positions on what is in the best interest of Malaysia in matters of religion.

Given the way things are going in the name of Islam, it is obvious that those in political and religious authority have failed to curb the growing extremism and intolerance.

If leaders cannot lead, then the vacuum will be filled by others who are very willing to take the lead and force the politicians to follow.

Read more at http://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/columnists/sharing-the-nation/2017/10/01/get-down-to-the-real-job-malaysia-should-deal-with-actual-problems-instead-of-manufacturing-fear-and/