Selamat Hari Raya al-Adha!!

Sorry for the late greeting, hope it’s turning out well for all!
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Guess it’s a tough one for flood victims though :(

I think at this point, I will discontinue updating my original flood post, and try to blog about developments as they occur.
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It’s not every day you’ll hear me urging you to get a copy of the NST, and again this comes late, but I was fairly impressed by the content today - primarily by the features of people doing good in Malaysia (also good pics but unfortunately, the online versions do not seem readily available).  Lots of little private, local initiatives, working with children from troubled homes, sex workers, and other under-served segments of society.

I am always heartened by such stories and only disappointed that I know so little about them (anyone want to bankroll my private research / investigative journalism outfit?! :P :)

But really, all those people are doing great work - keep it up!! and do have a read!
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Still a few more days at least before going back to regular blogging - sorry!
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Also featured in today’s NST is my Taman’s namesake - Tun Dr. Ismail. Here’s an interesting quote from his uncompleted autobiography (italics) and the new book about him:

The Special Position of the Malays proved a less intractable problem because the leaders of the Alliance realised the practical necessity of giving the Malays a handicap if they were to compete on equal terms with the other races.

The only point of controversy was the duration of the ‘special position’ — should there be a time limit or should it be permanent?

I made a suggestion which was accepted, that the question be left to the Malays themselves because I felt that as more and more Malays became educated and gained self-confidence, they themselves would do away with this ‘special position’.

In itself, this ‘special position’ is a slur on the ability of the Malays and only to be tolerated because it is necessary as a temporary measure to ensure their survival in the modern competitive world: a world to which only those in the urban areas had been exposed.

This analysis provides insight into how Dr Ismail perceived the Malayan situation.

What is striking is Dr Ismail’s belief that the Malays would do the right thing in the long run, as well as his faith in the Alliance as a model of government capable of meeting these challenges taken as a whole.

Tags: History, Malaysian Politics, little points //