Gripevine

WHEN I was a child, way before I entered primary one, I knew what rape was, courtesy of Tamil and Hindi movies. Literally every movie had at least one rape or attempted rape scene. What were these scenes for? To entertain the audience? Though I believe that one who is entertained by such scenes, must be of a perverse nature, and if these scenes are of mass appeal, then are the masses perverts?? In most of these movies, as a result of the rape, the woman would either commit suicide or live a life of shame thereafter. If she was lucky, the rapist would decide to marry her or someone would prevail upon the rapist to marry her. I can't ever recall a scene where a police report was lodged against the said rapist, he being sent to prison for his crime and being whipped for it, his life and future destroyed. Nope, never. After committing the crime, he would gloat about it as the victim weeped piteously of a life destroyed. Yup the message put across in such movies was a dysfunc...

Early this month, Jais delivered a highly controversial sermon titled: " Aurat: Antara Kebebasan dan Maruah Diri ” (Aurat: Between freedom and self dignity). The gist of the sermon is this: Muslim women should cover up their "aurat" to prevent “being harassed physically or mentally... so as to prevent false accusations (fitnah),  evil gazes (pandangan yang jahat) and bad incidents from taking place (perkara yang buruk berlaku)... Negative incidents such as rape, illicit sex, and incest (rogol, zina, sumbang mahram) can be avoided. [ Excerpt from Malaysiakini ] More of the sermon at this link: http://e-masjid.jais.gov.my/uploads/uploads/KhutbahJumaat%28Rumi%2906022015.pdf The sermon was deemed insensitive by many, and the tide of anger only worsened when DAP's Penang Exco member Chong Eng was questioned by police over her statement  which was deemed critical of the sermon. Chong however pointed out that she was not stirring the relig...

A leopard cannot change its spots and there's not much chance of a rapist changing his ways either. At the risk of sounding a tad judgemental, the following cases prove that society at this point, does not take crime and violence perpetuated against women seriously enough. Here are three examples that I believe drives the point home. Why only three? Well if I scour the internet and get down to the ground to conduct some interviews, I am sure I would be able to unearth more examples. But these three cases in itself serve as chilling proof that men like these don't change their ways and can cause greater harm to society. Man Haron Monis the lone gunmen responsible for the #SydneySiege was charged with 40 counts of  indecent and sexual assault, including 22 counts of aggravated sexual assault and 14 counts of aggravated indecent assault. All this is in addition to a 2002 charge for sexually assaulting a woman. In the aftermath of the #SydneySiege, one tweet summed it...

ONE of the most potent dangers a dog is likely to face in its lifetime, besides physical abuse is poisoning. Whether a dog is owned or a stray, poisoning is always a clear and present danger. Stray dogs are more likely targets, as they are constantly scavenging for food and a tasty piece of meat is not easy to resist when you don't know where your next meal is coming from. That being said, many beloved pet dogs have also fallen victim to poisoning from neighbours who don't like the presence of dogs in their neighbourhood, people who might dislike the dog's owner or simply very cruel people who hate dogs. In fact the poisoning of dogs is way too common for comfort, as it is the easiest way for an unscrupulous person to get rid of an unwanted dog without being found out. Just walk or drive by in the dark of the night, throw the lethal piece of meat, and the deed is done. Throw a stone, and you're likely to hit a person who has had a dog poisoned, kno...

ON  August 30, I saw a post by a friend on my Facebook timeline that made my day. An FB user who goes by the name Eddie Fendy Mkah posted that he offers taxi services to blind people with guide dogs. This is a screenshot of the Facebook post. In any other country or any other situation, no one would have batted an eyelid if they came across this post. But this is Malaysia, and animal lovers here, both non-Muslims and Muslims are fighting an arduous battle against the huge bias and fear of dogs in Malaysian society. So deep rooted is this fear and lack of understanding of man's best friend that in May this year, visually impaired Stevens Chan was asked to leave a mall because he had his faithful guide dog Lashawn in tow. After being told to leave, he could not even get a cab home, because the drivers did not want a dog in their cab. In light of the problems faced by Chan which shone a harsh spotlight on the plight of the visually impaired, Eddie's post went viral...

EVEN if they die many times over, it would not be enough." This is what a survivor of the brutal Khmer Rouge regime that plunged the country into its darkest era ever, said when two senior members of the regime were sentenced to life imprisonment on Thursday, Aug 7, 2014, for crimes against humanity more than 30 years ago. Naturally its scant justice, for Khieu Samphan is 83 and Nuon Chea, 88. Pol Pot the main leader of the Khmer Rouge died in the jungles of Cambodia in 1998. As I write this, many former Khmer Rouge commanders are still free and will likely never be brought to justice. In 2009, I went to Siem Reap with a group of friends to view the iconic Angkor Wat. The initial plan was to spend four days and three nights in the tourist hub, but after some deliberation, we decided that a trip to Cambodia would not be complete without taking in all of its history, so we took a ferry to Phnom Penh to visit the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. I have never shared the photos f...

WHEN you're a guide dog in Malaysia, being able to walk into a mall and not get kicked out is a big deal indeed. In fact it is such an achievement that it would warrant some amount of media coverage which it did. Breakthrough for the blind as guide dog is allowed into mall Lashawn however has been creating history ever since he landed in Malaysia. For starters this professionally trained Labrador is the first-ever guide dog for the visually impaired permitted into the country. Can you believe it? After all these years of economic progress, having the world's tallest building and what not, and we did not even have something as basic as trained guide dogs for the disabled. Lashawn and his master Stevens Chan the CEO and founder of Dialogue in the Dark (DID) as well as Save Ones Sight Mission Bhd (SOS Mission) and Malaysia Glaucoma Society are out to change all that through the "Dogs for Sight" campaign. DID ( www.did.my ) is committed to bridging the ...