BN's manifesto: Promise of a better tomorrow?

I study in University Kebagsaan Malaysia. Yes, it is one of the better universities in Malaysia (because we can't even grade our universities with set standards, so we'll never know where we rank..). I have to say facilities in uni does range from really equipped in quantity (NOT quality) faculties to faculties that is not deemed worthy to be called one! But what more can we ask for, it is the best public universities can offer...first world facilities, maintained with third world mentality!

I am the President of the Catholic Students' Society, also known to the UKM authorities, whom i shall refer to as HEP as Perwakilan Pelajar Katolik. UKM also has a Perwakilan Pelajar Kristian. This I have mixed feelings about, because although I appreciate that we Catholics are acknowledged as a religion of our own, they do realize our theology is different from the Protestants. However, I do not like the fact that there is a Perwakilan Pelajar Kristian and a Perwakilan Pelajar Katolik....because somehow, I've heard accounts of accusations from certain parties that Catholics are not Christians...noe that is hilarious and is to kept as a topic for another day..

Back to UKM, yes, we are registered, our Catholic Students' Society (CSSUKM). However, we are a little unkindly treated and I have had quite enough of it!In my first year in UKM, CSS fellowships were held in Fakulti Sains Sosial dan Kemasyarakatan (FSSK) and it has been there for many years, I believe. The faculty had a change of Deans, and one fine day, this dean decided to storm in one of the fellowships (during Friday prayer time, mind you..) and demanded our permission letter (which he himself signs every month!). So happened on that very fateful day, our secretary forgot to bring the permission letter. Hence the fiasco started! He started scolding, calling himself smart for knowing how pork bones look like in the dustbin (in other words accusing us of eating pork in the university), and taking down everybody's name in the room, saying every student was blacklisted! In the history of CSSUKM, we have never packed lunch for CSS members for fellowships in the form of sterefoam boxes and economy rice, because it would be too much of a hassle... Mind you, many many many Chinese based societies and even AIESEC had their meetings there! Why was CSSUKM the target for this accusation? It just might be our religion the Dean was afraid of.

We went to HEP to ask for help (Hal Ehwal Pelajar). They in turn told us that we are not allowed to have RELIGIOUS societies meeting during Friday Prayer time to respect them...until now I do not get how minding our own business during a time when the Malay world in Malaysia stops, actually shows respect to them. Is it not better in that way?

So anyway, spirited by this challenge some of us joined the exco in our second year, and decided to fight for a room. Hence we went to a different faculty, name Fakulti Ekonomi dan Perniagaan (FEP). FEP was supposed to be less fanatical to FSSK due to the composition of the lecturers, get my drift? So anyway, we were given a room there and had minimal problems other then noise control, which they had every right to demand.
We still tried to obtained permission from HEP to have our meetings on Fridays at 12-2pm, and bit by bit they added more excuses like there arent enough gurads on duty at that hour so we can't have our gatherings, when Persatuan Agama Hindu had no problems with the gatherings at that given time. So we let it pass, and suddenly, the last fellowship before the end of the semester, lo and behold! A call to our secretary ONLY A DAY BEFORE fellowship saying that suddenly we do not have permission to have our fellowship. So she went to see the Penolong Pendaftar of the faculty that said "Ada orang complaint kamu orang ada sebut nama-nama tu". So apparently she called HEP and HEP said FEP had every right to do with us as they pleased... Pissed, we spent the second semester of that year away from university having our fellowships outside instead..

In the mean time I spoke to the person in charge of the kerohanian of the students in UKM, and all he said was the faulty can do whatever they like, although HEP of UKM gave us permission to have gatherings! Shameful to see that a mere faculty can overwrite a decision made bu the University...Malaysia BOLEH!

Later on after one sem away from uni, we tried our luck, and true enough, with the memories of goldfish, this year, my third, we applied for permission for the rooms on Fridays at 12-2pm, and we obtained it. Happily we thank God for such luck, and we've had our gatherings for one semester which no glitches whatsoever. As president, I swear, we had attendance list of all members who attended meetings, and all that have entered that fellowship was a NON-MUSLIM. So this second semester of this year, another new guy is all fanatical, refusing to hand over the permission letter for fellowship now because it is on Fridays 12-2pm.

AGAIN! So me current secretary went to ask him why cant we have gatherings at that time. He lost his temper for no apparent reason, raised his voice at her n said that he has proof of us evangelizing to Muslims... HELLO??!! We've barely had time to have fellowships struggling the the bloody F*****g venue, do you think we even have time to think about non-Catholics? Our main purpose and goal, is to create a family for catholic students in UKM where we can have activities together as Catholics and also pray together as a family. Oh no, they have proof of us evangelizing, when I the President do not endorse of such things, especially to Muslims! I do not want to get us all thrown out of University. I am accountable for the well-being of each and everyone of the members in CSSUKM as this term's pres!

According to the new pain in the a**e, now the Timbalan Naib chanselor (TNC) doesnt allow meetings to be held on Fridays at 12-2pm. I mean, obviously la. When everyone is praying, meetings that include people of the Muslim faith should not be help at that time because we respect different religions and their needs. But ours is a condition where Muslims ARE NOT part of our gatherings, so why is it wrong for us to pray when our Muslim brother and sisters are praying to? Just doesn't make sense. I see they view as, "I do not want you to mendakwah to my Muslim ppl, so you must have meetings when all the Muslims are free to attend it"....make sense?? Silly billy ain't it??

Why we have our meetings on Friday 12-2pm is because during that time, no classes are held. It is a time when EVERY freakin student in UKM is free. Already our member count for CSSUKM is a mere 65, if I were to have fellowhips on a day when 10% active members have classes, it would be totally unfair. I shall not have it outside UKM because as a registered society in UKM we HV THE RIGHT to have gatherings in UKM, no? Because of religion we are discriminated.

How on earth am I to believe Pak Lah's manifesto on Riligion and Unity, when down in Universities things like these are happening??!!in the NST, manifesto says the points tor religion and unity consist of

* build better understanding of Islam among Muslim and non-Muslims through Islam Hadhari.
* Facilitate construction, consolidation and relocation of all places of worship via state government mechanism, co-ordinated at federal level
* increase inter-faith dialogue

Interesting. Point 1, helping Muslims and non-Muslims understand Islam thru islam Hadhari? What about Muslims to understand us non-Muslims instead? Don't we deserve help in the correcting misconceptions about us non-Muslims from the Muslims?

Point 2, facilitate construction, consolidation and relocation of all places of worship?
Church of Divine Mercy, Shah Alam. Application for a piece of land in Shah Alam was done in 1977! Land allocated in 1991!! (count la). Construction was stopped twice, and in 1996 they were told that land allocated not appropriate. Another land was offered in 1999. But Majlis Perbandaran Shah Alam refused to allow it. More shenanigans, and then in 2001 another piece of land was identified for the church.Only in 2005 was the church constructed.
And what about the countless Hindu temples ripped apart, including the 100-year old one not because it was in the way of development, but because it had not a permit, although it has stood there for a hundred years?

Point 3, inter-religious dialogue? What about the formation of Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism (MCCBCHS)..Notice one religion missing?

I want to believe in Malaysia. I really do. I love the country, this place I was born in. This land I love with all its culture and food...I just wished we were treated like real citizens, and not like second class citizens...