I have worked in Dubai and the hotel I stayed served Pork
sausages for breakfast and also the Pub during fasting time opens late at 7.30
pm and can see men in Arab clothing waiting in line with foreigners waiting for
Pub doors to open and have a pint of Beer. No problem or trouble from the Dubai
authorities. Why Malaysia is like this , no this no that . in Siem Reap Cambodia can see Muslims selling dried pork sausages in the Market. Pol Pot when in power decreed that Muslims must consume pork
with thanks to Kenny Tan
·
Differences between
Indonesia & Malaysia from a retired German lecturer P. Feisenberg who had
worked in Penang during Tunku's days and in Jakarta in Suharto's time. An
interesting account of his observations & gloomy prediction of the future
of a young nation ...
A big divide between
the two countries yet they live next to each other and both are Muslim
countries.
Is this because there is a Mahathir (and an UMNO ) in one
whereas there is none in the other?
I always tell my
friend that Indonesia is not the best country in the world to work and live but
since working in Indonesia for about 5 years, I don’t have the feeling that I
am living in a Muslim country despite 93% of Indonesians are Muslim. 99.9% of
my colleagues are Muslim and we go for lunch and dinner together and sometimes
to a Chinese restaurant that served pork and there is no fuss about it. (For
your information – the people who sell pork are Muslim – bosses are Chinese and
employ Indonesian Muslim to cut and sell pork in the wet markets)
All 5-star hotels
served pork bacon and ham for breakfast and are prepared by Muslim.
Alcohol is sold
everywhere in the street… and Indonesia No 1 selling beer is “Bintang” and is
brewed locally and is consumed by all Muslim openly. No issue….
During fasting month
the Muslims are free to decide if they want to fast or eat as normal… no issue
at all and no one catch them..
The president and vice
president are elected by the people and so are the governors of the city (in
Malaysia we call them Mentri Besar). No one is appointed by the President or in
Malaysia by the PM.
National holidays –
Hari Raya Idul Fitri is 2 days and Chinese New Year is 1 day but Christian
enjoy 3 days – Christmas, Ascension of Christ and Good Friday. The Hindu in
Bali has 1 day for Hari Raya Nyepi celebrated only in Bali . Wesak day is also
a public holiday.
A Muslim can convert
to a Christian tomorrow and then to a Buddhist the next day…and back to a
Muslim. ….no issue at all.
In supermarket pork is
sold side by side with chicken and beef….no issue at all…..
I can go on and
on…….in short Indonesia is a very liberal Muslim country.. definitely not
Malaysia . FYI our Malaysian senior government officer “suka Indonesia ”…you
know why!!!
Subject: Another
Report: Why I left for our ‘poorer’ neighbour — Indonesia
This writer is
absolutely correct and gave a very fair view of Indonesia . I have been in and
out of Indonesia for the past 10 years. Sometimes, my stay is up to one month
per visit. I have worked with senior Indonesia managers as well as low level
staff. I have also interacted with lots of direct sellers from all sorts of
background. I have dealt with the Indonesian civil servants.
They don't talk about
race. The mass media do not propagate racial or religious divides. They don't
spin story of Christian fighting the Muslim or Muslim fighting the Christian.
Husband and wife can have different religious belief. There is not such fuss as
Halal restaurant. Tony Roma in Indonesia serves the best pork rib. In all the
Tony Roma restaurants Muslim and non Muslim sit and eat together on one table.
I ate pork rib, my Muslim colleagues ate beef and lamb. There is no such thing
as a Halal and non Halal section.
Comparing the
environment and the working culture in Indonesia between pre 1998 (Suharto's
era) and the year 2008, you can see the vast improvement in Indonesia civil
services.
During Suharto era, my visit to Tax office (Kantor Pajak) cannot
be done without carrying cash for coffee money. The tax
officer will always start with " Pak dari Malaysia mahu
chak kopi dulu". And this small favor money must be given and openly
counted on his desk before any discussion.
My last visit in 2008
to the government office (Departmen Pentadbiran, you cannot use Jabatan
Kerajaan. They hated the Raja), you cannot even mention anything about
"Kopi". See the vast difference. SYB sent his own brother-in-law to
jail. Suharto's youngest son, Tommy Suharto was jailed. Do you see this in
Malaysia ?
Malaysia is rotting.
And the writer is absolutely correct. If the situation is not changed, Malaysia
will be the biggest exporter of maids to Indonesia , 10 years down the road.
Padam muka orang orang kampong.
Muslims in Indonesia have no problem with patronizing outlets
that sell alcohol or non-halal food, even if they choose not to have any. In
Malaysia , the Muslims make a big fuss over small things which they claim are
not halal. You may argue that there are fanatics here in Indonesia , but the
number is small relative to the population. Just look around Malaysia .
Everywhere you look, you get fanatics.
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