In conjunction with the long year-end school holidays, December is mainly the month of weddings galore. It is a momentous occasion not only for the brides and bridegrooms, but also their respective families and friends, who witness the solemnisation of the couple as husband and wife, and then participate in the subsequent celebrations. Judging by…
Recent developments in consumer markets show a proliferation of approach by manufacturers and service providers to attract Muslims to buy or subscribe to their offerings by using the “Islam” label. In most cases, “Islam” or any Arabic words are used to denote the essence of Islamic life and teachings as an adjective to manifest what…
The Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013–2025 has made it clear that the Ministry of Education is serious in equipping students with higher-order thinking skills. In so doing, emphasis has been placed on subjects of scientific and technological nature. Unfortunately, while one can easily find such emphasis being clearly stated regarding subjects of that nature, one cannot do so…
A Forum on Peace and Sustainability was held on Friday, 1st November. It was jointly organized by IKIM, International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB) and International Movement for A Just World (JUST). The major aim of the forum was to create greater understanding between the Muslim and Buddhist communities which in regional terms make up…
Religions play an important role in society. From history, we learnt that religions are the foundation for major world civilizations. Religion also functions as the mechanism to diminish the constant dreadful rivalries among human beings over worldly things. Through religious worldviews, individuals mould their characteristics to suit these worldviews. Religious adherents have a set of…
Among the aims of the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 launched by the Deputy Prime Minister recently is to end the exam-oriented educational system that has taken place for so long in our country. The revised approach will focus more on the comprehensive assessment which will be based on the banding system ranging from band 1…
We are, indeed, a generation which has become highly dependent on technology. We live in an increasingly science and technology-driven world and, by necessity, make scientific and technological decisions every day. As scientific advances improve our lives, they also complicate how we live and react to the new technologies. Increasingly, human values come into conflict…
The 2012 Auditor-General’s Report points to the fact that much is to be improved of our public service. Wastage or poor management of government proceeds and assets is patently manifest in cases of improper payment, works and supplies not according to specifications, poor quality services, and unreasonable delays. To ensure the government’s activities are managed…
A month has lapsed since the official launch of the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 (Pre-school to Post-Secondary Education) by the Deputy Prime Minister. The blueprint has made it clear that in the Ministry of Education’s effort to equip students with thinking skills, one of the six key attributes needed by them to be globally competitive, emphasis shall…
It was a beautiful sunny morning with a gentle breeze. We were surrounded by acres of open rice fields in a local village famous for its home-stay industry, called Kg. Sungai Haji Dorani in Kuala Selangor. We were listening to IKIM’s workshop young multiracial participants on “Malaysians Living Together” sharing what their impressions were of…
