Warmest Greetings to you all We have reached the time of year where MCG has its own elections for your Board representatives – you will find the Preliminary Notice of our 27th AGM included in this edition of your newsletter along with the Nomination Form for the various Board positions. As a registered society in Malaysia, we have certain legal duties we must perform for our members and the Registrar’s Office. Please make sure you participate fully in this process. The AGM is generally a short meeting where we present our financial accounts to our members and you have the opportunity to have input into the formation of our Board. The meeting will be followed by an interesting lecture (see the blurb regarding the lecture) and a complimentary luncheon for those members attending the AGM. Remember you must be a fully paid 2009 member of MCG to vote and eat! I look forward to seeing you at our events. PROGRAMME OF EVENTS
NOTICE
OF 27th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
PLEASE NOTE: Under Section 12 (v) of the Constitution notice is hereby given for the 27th Annual General Meeting of the Malaysian Culture Group to be held at 10.00am (Sharp) on Wednesday, 6th May 2009 at The Green, Royal Selangor Golf Club, Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur. Your attention is drawn to Section 12 (v) of the Constitution which states that nomination for the election of members to the Committee must be sent to reach the Secretary not later than fifteen days after the receipt of this preliminary notice. Please use the nomination form enclosed. Also note that under Section 12 (vii) of the Constitution, any motions for discussion at the meeting must be sent to reach the Secretary not later than fifteen days after the receipt of this preliminary notice. Please send your nomination form and any motion to be tabled to : Regina Stanislaus REPORTS FROM PREVIOUS EVENTS Explorers: A spiritual journey to one the many mystical temples of Malaysia This temple, which resembles a palace, is the spiritual abode of Hindu Goddess Sri Raja Rajeswary. She sits on the lotus flower, which represents the water and earth; the world She rules. The Goddess has four hands; on the right, one hand holds the ankusam, the axe, and in the other hand, the five worlds, ether (akayam), earth (bumi), water (thanni) and wind (kathu). The hands of the Goddess on the left hold sugar cane and the pasam, the noose. The face of the Goddess bears the radiance of one hundred suns, and it is so reverential. The Sri Raja Rajeswary Temple, was established in 1974, and was the pride and the joy of its founder, Mr. K Suppiah. His devotion to Goddess Raja Rajeswary, combined with determination, time, effort and creativity led to the development of a previous empty piece of land in Ampang, into a spiritual, architectural space. His vision has resulted in a beautiful sacred place for the Hindu community of Malaysia. The Temple is managed by the Temple Management Committee, which is currently chaired by Dato' M.Rajasekaran, our gracious and learned host and tour guide for the morning. We were also honoured to meet other members of the Temple Committee, who gave their time, to make our visit a privileged event. I would like to highlight that, Hindu temples are normally repaired and rededicated every twelve years, and in this case, it is a credit to this team because The Sri Raja Rajeswary Temple is impressive, culturally and religiously. As we continued the circle journey around the Temple, we gave homage to the sanctum dedicated to Lord Subramaniam, the God of the ancient Tamils. He is the King of The Smile. He bestows on all, spiritual powers, particularly the power of knowledge. I lingered here a bit longer (actually a lot longer!) than others in my party, because frankly, I’ll need these spiritual powers if I am to pass my Business Accounting studies this semester! Knowledge, after all, will lead to harmony, and where better to obtain it than in a temple?" As we finished the circle around the Temple, we came to the main Sanctum devoted to the Universal Mother, The Goddess Sri Raja Rajeswary, Here, the Temple priests invited us to participate in a prayer and blessing in which we received ash and holy water and blessed gifts of garlands of flowers and coconuts filled with roses and fruits. The prayers in Sanskrit were difficult to understand, however the splendour of the voice and the chanting were uplifting. Our concentration is, of course, heightened by the chanting of a mantra. These holy men intrigue me, as they are employed direct from India; are born into generations of priest families, often artistic and interestingly are bare chested - bare chested ! - now that’s different from any dress code of the men of the cloth where I come from! Outside the main Temple, and within its grounds is the shrine housing the nine navagrahas, the nine planets that are believed to have significant impact on the lives of every individual. The Shani Bhagavan (Saturn) takes prominence. He is generally known to affect a person adversely on occasions when he occupies a particular position in one’s horoscope. A prayer to this Devata, especially on Saturdays is said to mitigate the hardships that one may otherwise have to face during these periods. The Temple surroundings are peaceful and tranquil, if one can block out the noise pollution of the traffic coming from the nearby highway! The gardens are abundant with neem, bael, champa, and jamun trees. The neem tree is considered sacred by Hindus and interestingly, one of the neem trees, seems especially significant, with its branches bending forward, as if to form an umbrella over the Goddess sitting within the main sanctum. This sacred tree is also renowned for its medicinal properties. Also found in the gardens of the Temple, are tulsi (holy basil), jasmine shrubs and sugar cane. The entrance of the temple is graced with a water fountain, whilst at the back of the temple there is a lovely water cascade. Also at the back of the temple grounds, on the bank of the Ampang River, is a scented Champa tree, the blossoms of which are a favourite offering to the Gods of Hindu temples. By now, we were ready for masala tea and the delicious vegetarian feast served up on banana leaves, and to be eaten with our hands. It was freshly made from garden herbs and prepared the temple cook who hails from India. The surrounds, in the wedding and celebration hall, were decorated in the bright trappings of Bollywood inspired colours. If you have just read Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert - or if you haven’t, a visit to this temple is recommended. Serene and Divine, it is a beautiful place of worship with its water features and gardens and just being in the presence of the Goddess, I can understand why the Temple has become a spiritual oasis for Hindu devotees as a centre to inculcate knowledge and awareness of that faith. Michele Adams
Explorers’ A visit Chinese Ink Painting Society of Malaysia Monday 16th Feb the explorers visited Galeri Chong the home of the Chinese Ink Painting Society of Malaysia, situated in a quiet back street in Kuala Lumpur. After ascending over sixty stairs to the Galeri we were greeted by the famous “Sifu” (master) himself, Chong Chen Chuan. The studio is not only a gallery, but a one-stop shop for all things related to the art of Chinese ink painting. Also on display are beautiful pots, marble figures, many antiques, and treasures from years gone by, mostly for sale. It’s a wonderful place to browse around for an hour or so. We were taken through to his studio where we met three of his very talented students who had come along to demonstrate the art of brush painting for us; they are all very keen students and have been working for many years with Mr. Chong. We were greeted with traditional Chinese tea and then given an introduction to the type of paint, different brushes and the rice paper used for this type of painting. Then we had three separate demonstrations from the students showing the different types of artwork, each working with different brushes and techniques; one painting beautiful sunflowers, the next a bough of blossom and lastly the master himself creating bamboo with the touch of the brush to this fine paper. We were then taken through to the back room where we were shown how the rice paper is built up in layers before it is framed. The showroom also does framing for the general public. It was a great morning; thank you Ineke and Lubu. Mr. Chong has been teaching for many years and runs classes in this studio and also in Petaling Jaya. His website www.cipsm1996.com Gillian Longhurst
Feminism in Islam – a talk by Dr. Margot Badran On a trip to Indonesia last week, my friend Antje and I met Otto, an affable local guide in the Sultan’s Water Palace in Yogyakarta. Otto told us, the pride in his voice unconcealed, that there were signs of ‘modernity’ in Indonesian Muslim society. Among other things, he let us know that in the parliamentary elections which will take place this year in his country there will be a 30% quota of seats reserved for women representatives. Only a short while ago, I would have thought that Otto was politely exaggerating in order to make us feel more comfortable in his country. Surely such feminist affirmative action is not compatible with our conventional (mis)understanding of Islam! I had not determined whether Otto’s account was true or not, but I am now inclined to believe him. Dr. Margot Badran’s talk to our group on the history of feminist movements in several Islamic societies did a lot to amend my perception about the will and power of women around the world to change their condition for the better. Dr. Badran is a distinguished scholar in Islamic and gender studies, and we owe the opportunity to have had her as our guest speaker to what she estimated to be a historical event that took place in Kuala Lumpur on 13-17 February: the Global Meeting for the launch of the Musawah global movement for equality and justice in the Muslim family and society. Dr. Badran’s talk on ‘Feminism in Islam’ was both informative and insightful. It traced the long history of feminist movements in Islamic societies, their complex and evolving discourse, their successes and setbacks. It also seemed to suggest that the shared purpose of women’s struggle around the world, regardless of religious and political contexts, is to achieve gender equality in the family and in the society. Egypt was a pioneer in the affirmation of women’s rights, a movement made possible by advances in technology and society at the beginning of the 20th century, such as the advent of free press and the raising awareness of women’s place in the modern world. Dr. Badran identified two schools of thought which developed over time among feminist activists in Islamic societies: one secular, the other Islamic. Secular feminism was cast in the discourses of secular nationalism and Islamic reform. It advocated equal citizenship in the public sphere and equal rights to education, to work and to vote and reform of Muslim family laws and practices based on a complementary understanding (not egalitarian concept) of gender roles. Secular feminism was most successful in gaining rights and equality for women in the public sphere but less successful in the private or family sphere where ideas based on conservative understanding of Islam were hard to dislodge. Islamic feminism, deriving understandings of gender equality on re-readings of religious texts, mainly the Qur’an, appeared late in the 20th century taking the struggle for gender equality a step further, especially in matters concerning the family. Women scholars familiar with the text of the Qur’an strove to change the perception that this sacred text warrants a lesser treatment of women when compared to men. The most resounding success of this approach is perhaps the recently adopted Family Code of Morocco, the first such comprehensive legal instrument based on Islamic jurisprudence. The provisions of this Code make polygamy virtually impossible, they state that men and women are equal heads of the family and give women the right to divorce. The talk elicited a lot of interest from our group. Some participants wanted to understand the broader context of the current debate and asked for example about Sharia Law. Others wished to know if the different translations of the Qur’an explain the variance in its interpretations. Yet others were interested in Dr. Badran’s personal opinions as someone familiar with both Western and Islamic realities. I left the beautiful Badan Warisan building where the talk was held with the overall impression that, in their different ways, all feminists struggle for the same values, equal opportunities, respect and dignity, and that this commonality of purpose makes their efforts worthwhile. I’m sure Otto would agree… Dr. Margot Badran is a Senior Fellow at the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University and a Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars. Her most recent book, “Feminism in Islam. Secular and Religious Convergences”, is the result of over 20 years of research into the history of feminist movements in Islamic countries around the world. Mihaela Carcea
Playing with Gibbons, Dancing with Children: Lessons learned from a forest odyssey - Presentation by Noah Jackson On March 4, Fulbright scholar Noah Jackson took us on a visual journey to the people living in the edge of the rainforest in East Malaysia. Noah, who introduced himself as an artist, held our attention with his photographs which emphasized the serenity and beauty of the rainforest environment and the value of the lifestyle of the simple people living there. He said his passion for photography started in childhood. His background includes anthropology and forestry. He has worked as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines. He showed us a series of fascinating images of the life of the Penan people and their environment. We shared the activities and the happiness of the children as they played. He is using his skill as a photographer to illustrate and explore the relationship between ourselves and the environment in which we live. He plans to set up an NGO to develop this. Mobility is largely by boat along the rivers. We saw the children jumping on and off the rafts used for transport, with clothes and without. They made friends with animals and we saw monkeys who were pets and part of the family. There was no single culture. These communities are isolated and have developed their own languages. One guide spoke eight languages, Noah told us. Clothing styles were very varied and ranged from a traditional loin cloth worn by one of the older hunters and modern sarongs on the younger women and a Superman T shirt on one of the children. These children have difficulty in attending school. There is little money for uniforms and books but the biggest problem is transport, we were told. The efforts made by the authorities to provide Health care and Education were not mentioned. The images concentrated on the beauty of the rainforest and the pleasures of the rural lifestyle. Some of the measures introduced to help these people to preserve their heritage of knowledge about their environment were mentioned. The issues of destructive development such as logging and establishment of big palm oil estates were brought up in the discussion. Exhibits included publications and mounted prints for sale. Noah’s website is full of his wonderful images and a newsletter. www.hopeinlight.com Highly recommended. Gwen Smith
BOOK CLUB REPORTS Title: The Gift of Rain With masterful and evocative narrative, replete with exotic and captivating images, sounds and aromas – of rain swept beaches, magical mountain temples, pungent spice warehouses, opulent colonial ballrooms and forbidding rainforests – Tan Twan Eng weaves a haunting and unforgettable story of betrayal, barbaric cruelty, steadfast courage and enduring love. In addition to the rich language and imagery, the history and the familiarity of Penang, the book is filled with philosophical ideas drawn from Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism and the reader tastes these nuggets of philosophy like the spices in a Malaysian curry. Our group was unanimous in its praise for the book and we highly recommend it! Hootoksi Tyabji
Title: Tale of Genji all found this a difficult book to read. Only half of us finished it. it was interesting and informative about social life in the court of medieval Japan but not entertaining to read. The style included formalities imposed by the fact that the story was to be read aloud to the Empress. Most of us found this a formidable barrier to empathizing and understanding the characters in the narrative. The book we had is a translation of most of the first third of the text attributed to Murasaki Shikibu. The translations of the poems showed the complexity if the conventions and imagery involved. The Penguin Reading Guide to the Tale of Genji was available to us online thanks to Lynn who found it. It was very helpful. We discussed some of the questions listed. 1. We agreed that men valued women’s skills in the fine arts. They also valued physical beauty. Long thick tresses are mentioned several times. Choice of clothing appropriate to the occasion is also mentioned. 2. It was not clear to us how the illicit affairs which are so important to the story were conducted. The houses must have contained many retainers and attendants and the rooms were separated by flimsy partitions. Most of the women seemed to accept Genji’s advances. Only one refused him. We were not sure whether the women were weak and compliant or whether they in fact pulled strings and organized events from behind the scenes. 3. Personal worth seemed to lie in skills in the fine arts included the choice of appropriate clothing. Money is not discussed and Genji seems to have unlimited resources. 4 The consequences of the birth of Genji’s son to the Empress are not apparent in these chapters. The child is described as resembling Genji very closely. 5. Genji is exiled after being discovered in flagrente delicto with the daughter of the Minister of the Right. 6.The foreign (i.e. Chinese) artifacts and culture are regarded as superior to the native (Japanese). I was left dissatisfied with my understanding of this book. I had gained a superficial insight into the social structure of the denizens of the Imperial Court on Japan at the time. I need to reread the text more slowly , especially the poems which were used as communication. As a group we thought that this was not a suitable choice for our group. Gwen Smith
NEWSLETTER REPORT Newsletter This is the April issue of the newsletter. The next issue will be in May 2009. The deadline for sending in your articles/photos is April 8. Please email your write ups to The write-ups should not be more than 350 words. They should be in Times New Roman font size 11. Jaishree Balasubramanian
BOOKING POLICY FOR EVENTS Reservations Wait List Payments Cancellations Refunds Eligibility Event Participation Eligibility Your co-operation with the Booking Policy would be much appreciated by the Events Planning Team.
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