consumated ... maybe consummated
Maybe consummated, used or even secondhand. Its not nice to be called used, its worse still to be called second hand. But consummated, that is something else - there is romance attached to it. From the past, records, essays, writeups, by me, by others, already publically published. Maybe from past blogs. Maybe someone reading this may say, "I have read that before", so be it - Lias.
Retired. Lives in in the Far East, in Malaysia to be precise. Vision & Mission in life left too far behind; but who can crystallise the future?; now take the seconds, minutes, hours and days as they come by.
today
December 2007
November 2007
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
September 2004
July 2004
June 2004
May 2004
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/p_latestdetail.asp?id=29848
Malaysia leader hits out at hugging scenes in reality TV shows
2005/8/13 (updated AM 11:47)
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP)
Malaysia's deputy leader has hit out at hugging scenes on local TV reality
shows, saying such public displays of affection are un-Islamic.
"It is forbidden in the religion," Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said
late Friday in a speech to a youth council.
Malaysian television stations generally edit out kissing and hugging scenes
in their programs but there have been displays of hugging in some reality
shows of late.
Noting that reality TV attracts large audiences in Malaysia, Najib said the
programs should help spread moral values.
"Hugging scenes are not suitable," he said. "They must sing decent songs,
and must act decently."
The minister didn't single out a particular TV show as being morally
reprehensible.
But separately, Malaysia's Culture Minister Rais Yatim indicated that
American TV shows like "Sex and the City," "Fear Factor" and "Six Feet
Under" may soon be banned as unsuitable for Malaysian audiences.
Such programs erode the moral values of Malaysians and have a negative
effect on Malaysian culture, the New Straits Times newspaper cited Rais as
saying.
Rais said a Cabinet committee, headed by Najib, had been set up to identify
programs deemed unsuitable and to direct TV stations to stop airing them.
Islam is the official religion in this Southeast Asian country where more
than half of the 26 million people are ethnic Malay Muslims.
____
http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/08/12/
saudi.bluetooth.ap/index.html
Bluetooth helps Saudis break taboos
Friday, August 12, 2005 Posted: 1019 GMT (1819 HKT)
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- The restaurant, like all Riyadh eateries, has
taken precautions to prevent its male and female diners from seeing or
contacting each other.
Circular white walls surround each table in the family section, open only to
women alone or women accompanied by close male relatives. Other male diners
are on lower floors.
Yet despite the barriers, the men and women flirt and exchange phone
numbers, photos and kisses.
They elude the mores imposed by the kingdom's puritanical Wahhabi version of
Islam -- formulated in the 18th century -- by using a 21st century device in
their mobile phones: the wireless Bluetooth technology that permits users to
connect without going through the phone company.
"It's more fun coming to a restaurant these days," said Mona, 21, as her two
friends giggled. Their Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones rested on the table
next to the remnants of a dinner of club sandwiches and fries.
"I've been using Bluetooth since it came out last year. We're always looking
for new things to add a spark to life," Reem, 24, said.
The women would not give their full names when talking about communicating
with the opposite sex -- so strong is the taboo in this kingdom where men
and women are strictly segregated. Unrelated men and women caught talking to
each other, driving in the same car or sharing a meal risk being detained by
the religious police.
But connecting by Bluetooth is safe and easy. Users activate the Bluetooth
function in their phone and then press the search button to see who else has
the feature on within a 30-foot (9-meter) range.
They get a list of ID names of anyone in the area -- names, mostly in
Arabic, often chosen to allure: poster boy, sensitive girl, lion heart,
kidnapper of hearts, little princess, prisoner of tears. Some are more
suggestive, like "nice to touch" and "Saudi gay club."
Users then click on a name to communicate with that person.
The phenomenon has started to receive attention in the media, especially
after stories appeared saying women were photographing female guests in
revealing evening gowns at weddings -- which are segregated -- and
circulating them to friends by Bluetooth.
That created some panic among those who feared pictures of their mothers,
sisters or daughters would be seen by men. Some families hired female guards
to confiscate camera-equipped mobile phones from wedding guests.
There is little the government can do to control Bluetooth use. Last year,
it banned camera-equipped phones, but backed off because cameras have become
a feature in most phones.
Abdul-Aziz al-Aseeri, a 25-year-old computer science teacher, said he tells
his students that Bluetooth technology can be misused. "I warn them of the
dangers of having pictures of their mothers and sisters ending up in the
phones of their classmates," he said.
But for many Saudi youths, who have almost nowhere to meet members of the
opposite sex, the technology is a godsend. It is replacing a favorite method
of flirting: throwing phone numbers at women through car windows or in
shopping malls.
With Bluetooth, men and women can safely flirt at malls, restaurants and
even traffic lights.
For the most part, the messages are innocent. But for this conservative
society, it is pretty bold stuff.
Many images feature babies -- some blowing kisses -- perhaps because women
consider them cute. Animated cartoons doing belly dances, dreamy Arabic
songs and sappy, sentimental messages are also popular.
"Last night I sent an angel to watch over you, but he came back soon," said
one message. "I asked him why, and he answered, 'Am not allowed to watch
over other angels."'
Some are more forward: a picture of a woman covered in a cloak and then
another one of her in a white top, looking coquettishly from beneath the rim
of a cap; an image of two women kissing; a woman taking off her trousers
while suggestively shaking her hips.
On a recent warm night, Abdullah Muhammad sat in front of his laptop at a
sidewalk cafe waiting for his computer's Bluetooth to pick up nearby users.
"I use Bluetooth to meet girls," said the 24-year-old businessman. "The
religious police cannot catch me."
His long, dark hair combed back, Muhammad said when he sees a woman walking
past, he presses the search button in the hope her phone's Bluetooth is on.
With women forced to cover up in the kingdom, how can he tell if she is
someone he would like to start a relationship with?
"I check her Bluetooth ID," he said. "If it's cute, then I'm pretty sure she
will be pretty."
------------------------------------------------------------------
http://news.catcha.com/my/content.phtml?1&010&&afpnews.cgi
&cat=malaysia&story=050811080408.wsq3s1sy.txt
Killer particles and chemicals in drifting smog
HONG KONG, Aug 11 (AFP) - A smoky haze caused by forest fires is hovering
over parts of Malaysia, posing health and environmental problems.
Air pollution is a problem throughout the region as rapidly developing
nations, especially China, invest in industrial and transport
infrastructure.
According to environmentalists, the three largest sources of pollutants are
power stations, industrial facilities and vehicles. Here are the main
pollutants and their effects on the human body.
OZONE: Not the ozone found naturally in the atmosphere, but the hazy brown
smog created by the interaction of sunlight and noxious pollutants such as
nitrous oxides, sulphur dioxide and others produced by vehicles and
industrial activity.
According to Hong Kong Chinese University's community health professor Wong
Chit-ming, ozone attacks the protective cells that line the membranes in the
lungs that absorb life-giving oxygen.
"Sulphur is an acid and it corrodes the lungs," says Wong. "It scalds and
scars the lung tissue, and reduces your ability to absorb oxygen."
CARBON MONOXIDE: Produced predominantly by vehicular exhausts, carbon
monoxide is a clear odourless poison that the lungs find easier to absorb
than oxygen.
"The blood then carries this poison to the organs, consequently starving
them of oxygen," says Wong. "They basically die."
PARTICULATE POLLUTANTS: Although few of the tiny fragments of soot thrown
into the air by burning find their way into the lungs -- specially adapted
cells in our mouth, nose and throat filter out the larger particles -- some
heavy metals produced in industrial processes do.
They tend to upset the chemical balances in our bodies that prevent
oxygen -- which would be poisonous to us without the presence of certain
compounds -- from corroding the cells of our organs.
Other heavy metals cause cancers and can even damage our genetic make-up by
attacking DNA.
"These toxic compounds, especially released through the burning of coal, can
accumulate in the body, affecting brain and kidney function and cause other
organ failures," says Edwin Lau from Friends of the Earth.
____
Danger with every breath you take
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Thursday/Frontpage/
20050811074144/Article/indexb_html
____
http://www.mmail.com.my/Current_News/MM/Thursday/Frontpage/
20050811105105/Article/index_html
WORSENING HAZE SITUATION
Drastic measures needed, say NGOs
JAD MAHIDIN KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 11:
Non-Governmental Organisations have welcomed the decision to make public the
Air Pollutant Index (API) and are now calling for drastic measures to ensure
that the health of the people is not jeopardised.
Muslim Consumers Association (PPIM) project director Nor Nirwandy Mat
Noordin said the Government should consider declaring a State of Emergency
at locations where the readings get to 350.
"Don't wait until it reaches 500. By then many would have fallen ill
already," he said.
He also urged the Education Ministry to close all affected schools instead
of leaving it to the principals.
"Since children are especially susceptible to air pollution, the Government
should not jeopardise their health by waiting until the API reaches 400
before suspending classes," he said.
"The Government should also consider issuing a stop-order for industrial
operations so that at least the emission of gas and other pollutants can be
brought down."
Independent Occupational Health and Safety advisor Dr Abed Onn said the
release of API readings is a positive move.
He suggested a ban on cars in the city at least on alternate days.
"This may disrupt a lot of things but it will definitely help to lessen
pollution," he said.
Meanwhile, Environmental Protection Society Malaysia (EPSM) adviser Gurmit
Singh said disclosing the API readings alone is not enough.
"The breakdown of the reading is just as important as the public has a right
to know what components are the highest in our air right now," he said.
Contents of the air, he explained, would help tell the public what they
should be worried about.
"Then the public can take their own precautionary measures based on the
information divulged," he said.
He explained that if the contents show that sulphur dioxide is high (the gas
comes generally from motor fumes), it would then be logical to control usage
of vehicles on the road.
Wearing protective masks when gas pollution happens makes little difference,
he said.
From The Star, Malaysia
6 August 2005
Malaysians misers?
By Grace Chen
Pictures by Samuel Ong, Darran Tan & Ricky Lai
Why on earth, you ask, should we tip when there is already a statutory
10% service charge imposed on us when we dine at a restaurant? Isn’t
the service part and parcel of the whole F&B package?
Restaurant consultant Sugesh Rao, 35, and F&B manager of Radius Hotel
Lloyd Gan say yes, tipping is not obligatory since there is already a
service charge.
While most managements will channel all proceeds from the service
charge towards service points for the staff (one service point equals
RM200)(Note USD 1.00 is about RM 3.8, BP 1.00 is about RM 7.00), some use it to cover running costs like salaries, breakages,
linen, uniforms and a list of other peripherals needed to maintain
staff. Not all of the service charge goes into the tip box. A little
something extra from the patrons will help to tip things in the
staff’s favour.
Suresh Amar says tips are nice, but he doesn’t expect them.
Another reason a customer might want to consider is that service staff
are subject to long working hours.
“They are robbed from doing a lot of things because of their shifts.
Unlike people who work from nine to five, there is no way a service
staff member can take leave during festive seasons and public
holidays. So, the tip money makes them feel that their sacrifices are
appreciated,” says Rao.
Gan suggests that tipping is one way of getting the “royal treatment”
because the service staff will usually go the extra mile when they
know that a good tipper is in the house.
Hang on a minute there. Does this mean that non-tippers will get
shoddy or less than satisfactory service?
Chambermaid Thanaletchumi, 47, and porter Suresh Amar Abdul Majid, of
the Grand Plaza Parkroyal express shock that a customer should be made
to feel they must tip.
“If the guest does not leave a tip, I will still do my best because it
is my job. By no means should service staff demand tips from a guest,”
says Thanaletchumi.
“We are trained not to expect anything from the guest. But if he wants
to tip as a way to thank us for the good service, we don’t mind taking
it to make him feel happy,” adds Suresh.
Of course, some service staff have a way of making it “easier” for us
to tip; for example, the cashier who gives you your RM10 change in RM1
coins. Do you say “shove it” and pick up the coins one by one (which
admittedly isn’t the height of social style) or tell them to keep the
change?
While our service staff may be reticent on the subject of tipping,
their foreign counterparts have a bold way of dealing with
non-tippers. Edward Chen, 62, a retired Malaysian banker, found this
out the hard way.
“When you are in Europe, England and Hong Kong you have to tip. If
not, the service staff will show you a sour face and they will not be
willing to serve you anymore!” reveals Chen.
An episode at a bed and breakfast in Blackpool, London eight years ago
still stays in his mind.
L-R) Siti Zubaidah, Siti Aminah and Siti Fatimah tip those they feel
are deserving.
“When I arrived on the first day, the waitress was very nice.
Unfortunately, I did not have any small change so I didn’t tip her.
The next day, she completely ignored me! Once, my wife gave £3
(RM19.95) to the housekeeping just to bring an ironing board!” he
says.
Fearing Backlash, Lawyers Refuse to Defend Followers Of Banned Sect
Associated Press, USA
Aug 4, 2005
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia--Forty-five members of a banned religious sect
<http://cultfaq.org/cultfaq-sect-definition.html#Subject2> were charged
Thursday with violating Islam <http://www.apologeticsindex.org/i07.html> ,
but Malaysian lawyers refused to defend them fearing a backlash from
conservative Muslims and authorities, officials said.
Also Thursday, the New York-based Human Rights Watch <http://hrw.org/>
accused
<http://www.religionnewsblog.com/11904/Malaysia--Respect-Rights-of-Religious
-Community> the government of pressuring lawyers to deny the sect members a
fair trial, and violating international norms of religious freedom.
<http://www.apologeticsindex.org/r04.html>
Sky Kingdom
The Sky Kingdom <http://www.apologeticsindex.org/s/s53.html> is a
quasi-religious interfaith <http://www.apologeticsindex.org/i06.html>
commune located in the eastern Malaysian state of Terengganu.
While Malaysia has a secular legal system, the country is ruled by a
moderate Muslim majority.
"Muslims in Malaysia come under the purview of religious courts that are not
part of the secular federal legal system. Any attempt to deviate from
Islamic <http://www.apologeticsindex.org/i07.html> teachings, or to leave
the religion, can bring harsh penalties from the religious courts." [Source
<http://www.religionnewsblog.com/8999> ]
Sky Kingdom leader Ayah Pin claims to be a deity
The group includes former Muslims
The 45 members of the Sky <http://www.apologeticsindex.org/s/s53.html>
Kingdom sect, including 23 women, appeared in an Islamic court in the
eastern state of Terengganu and told the judge they had no lawyers, said a
court official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Judge Mohamad Abdullah postponed the trial to Sept. 1 to give the defendants
_ who are all free on bail, except for one who was also being detained for
another charge _ more time to engage lawyers, the official said.
If found guilty of spreading beliefs contrary to Islam and violating Islamic
precepts, they could be jailed for up to two years under Malaysia's Islamic
laws that apply only to Muslims in this multiracial country.
Haris Fathillah, a lawyer based in Kuala Lumpur, said he was trying to get
Muslim lawyers accredited with religious authorities in Terengganu to defend
the Sky Kingdom followers but there was "reluctance due to the nature of the
case." He would not elaborate.
An official with the Malaysian Bar Council said "there is fear among them of
a backlash from the Muslim community if they take up the case." The issue is
"extremely sensitive for Muslims," he said, speaking on condition of
anonymity.
The Sky Kingdom sect, which has a commune in Terengganu, is believed to have
hundreds of mostly ethnic Malay Muslim members. The sect claims to have
followers from other religions as well and says it promotes interfaith
harmony.
But the government, ever sensitive to Malays abandoning mainstream Islam,
banned the group on the grounds that it was preaching a deviant form of the
religion. On Sunday, authorities tore down a house-sized teapot, umbrella
and boat _ objects representing various faiths _ in the Sky Kingdom's
commune.
In a statement, Human Rights Watch slammed the Malaysian government for
"targeting this religious community simply for their beliefs."
Sam Zarifi, the organization's Asia deputy director, said in the statement
that "the government is violating international standards by destroying the
Sky Kingdom's religious structures and now threatening to throw the members
in jail without a fair trial."
He said Muslim Malaysian lawyers also feared "reprisals from religious
extremists and loss of their accreditation" if they defended the Sky Kingdom
followers.
A mob of about 30 people who were allegedly upset with the sect's teachings
attacked its commune <http://www.religionnewsblog.com/11733> last month,
setting fire to some of the structures. No injuries were reported, but the
sect's leader, Ariffin Mohammed who is also known as Ayah Pin, has
disappeared since the incident.
From: yasmin <sona_mogahed@yahoo.com>
Subject: An Article to Publish
Salam,
The following is another article I wrote that you can publish on your
websites. Also, please send it to your email list. If you have any email
lists or know other websites, please publish widely. I'm trying to get the
word out: We don't have to apologize for being Muslim.
Sincerely,
Yasmin Mogahed
A Letter to the Culture that Raised Me
by Yasmin Mogahed
(Monday June 20 2005)
http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/15923
"With my veil I put my faith on display - rather than my beauty. My value
as a human is defined by my relationship with God, not by my looks. So I
cover the irrelevant. And when you look at me, you don’t see a body. You
view me only for what I am: a servant of my Creator."
Growing up, you read me the Ugly Duckling. And for years I believed that
was me. I am a woman - that ugly duckling among men. For so long you
taught me I was nothing more than a bad copy of the standard.
I couldn’t run as fast or lift as much. I didn’t make the same money and I
cried too often. I grew up in a man’s world where I didn’t belong.
And when I couldn’t be him, I wanted only to please him. I put on your
make-up and wore your short skirts. I gave my life, my body, my dignity,
for the cause of being pretty. I knew that no matter what I did, I was
worthy only to the degree that I could please and be beautiful for my
master. And so I spent my life on the cover of Cosmo and gave my body for
you to sell.
I was a slave, but you taught me I was free. I was your object, but you
swore it was success. You taught me that my purpose in life was to be on
display, to attract, and be beautiful for men. You had me believe that my
body was created to market your cars. And you raised me to think I was an
ugly duckling.
But you lied.
Islam tells me, I’m a swan. I’m different - it’s meant to be that way. And
my body, my soul, was created for something more.
God says in the Quran: ‘O mankind, We created you from a single (pair) of
a male and a female and made you into nations and tribes, that you may
know one another (not that you may despise each other). Verily, the most
honoured of you in the sight of God is the one who is most righteous”
(Quran 49:13).
So I am honoured. But it is not by my relationship to men. My value as a
woman is not measured by the size of my waist or the number of men who
like me. My worth as a human being is measured on a higher scale: a scale
of righteousness and piety. And my purpose in life - despite what the
fashion magazines say - is something more sublime than just looking good
for men.
And so God tells me to cover myself, to hide my beauty and to tell the
world that I’m not here to please men with my body; I’m here to please God.
God elevates the dignity of a woman’s body by commanding that it be
respected and covered, shown only to the deserving - only to the man I
marry.
So to those who wish to ‘liberate’ me, I have only one thing to say:
Thanks, but no thanks.
I’m not here to be on display. And my body is not for public consumption.
I will not be reduced to an object, or a pair of legs to sell shoes. I’m a
soul, a mind, a servant of God. My worth is defined by the beauty of my
soul, my heart, my moral character. So, I won’t worship your beauty
standards, and I don’t submit to your fashion sense. My submission is to
something higher.
With my veil I put my faith on display - rather than my beauty. My value
as a human is defined by my relationship with God, not by my looks. So I
cover the irrelevant. And when you look at me, you don’t see a body. You
view me only for what I am: a servant of my Creator.
So you see, as a Muslim woman, I’ve been liberated from a silent kind of
bondage. I don’t answer to the slaves of God on earth. I answer to their
King.
REPORT BY Judith Lilian Macdonald
1 August 2005
I began this as an protest against the media in my own country, however now
wish to get this report into as many hands as possible, in an effort to
solicit some help.
As a New Zealander, having been, along with fifty-seven others, the
innocent victim of a truly horrifying Jihad attack, (18th July 2005) then
unlawfully arrested by the JHEAT Islamic reform police, incarcerated in a
cell in conditions most people would not subject their dog to, on learning
of the slant taken by certain persons in the media of my own country, New
Zealand, I was not just shocked, but extremely angry and ashamed.
Completely ignorant of the real facts of the story and totally oblivious to
a reality that has deeply serious implications, not just to Malaysia itself,
but also to the world at large, the journalist/s responsible for their
coverage, namely the Auckland Dominion, deserve to lose their jobs.
It is this same schoolyard mentality of finger-pointing judgementalism, so
prevalent in amateur reporting, which can result, as in this case, in the
less desirable members of society (those hotheads who love to hate), feeling
justified to take the law into their own hands and persecute, by extremely
violent means, the more innocent members of society.
This is the case in which I was involved in the state of Terengganu,
Malaysia.
Naming, (because others had), a meditation retreat open to all comers, a
deviate sect, and emphasizing one of its features, a teapot, (which, if in
the world of art, might equally have been applauded for its originally of
thought and beauty of structure) was a deliberate attempt to belittle, in
the eyes of the public, both the retreat itself and the extremely courageous
man who had it built - the man known as Ayah Pin.
I say courageous, because anyone born into an area devoutly Islam, who
denounces his faith for its extreme practice, for its violation of human
rights is very brave indeed. It was those same Islamic extremists in
Terengganu who began the vendetta against Ayah Pin (and those who respect
his stand), who first dubbed Ayah Pin as a deviate, his meditation retreat
as a deviate sect. It is ignorant and uniformed members of the media in
other countries who by perpetuating such nonsense, and carry on these
misconceptions and persecution even further afield.
The reality of Ayah Pin (as with all great advocates and effective
champions for human rights, freedom and peace - take Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham
Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Brother Yun of China for
example, who through years of meditationand in Ayah Pin's case, fasting),
felt compelled to make a stand against those who oppress. The ignorant
persecuted them too - remember?
Ayah, dubbed the deviate, actually protests the deviations in Islam; the
differing interpretation of Jihad giving rise to fanaticism and hence, at
its worst, the proliferation of terrorism, and protests also the general
state of Islam itself, (not to mention the state of the world at large),
today.
As a Christian converted to Islam, as required by Indonesian law - (not, I
might add according to the law of Mohammad) on marrying an Islamic
Indonesian citizen (as I stated in both a police report and a JHEAT police
report on the day after our incarceration), and having spent 7 years in two
countries predominantly Islam, thoroughly sickened by the corruption in
higher echelons of power, by exploitation, sexual harassment, and a
predominantly self-serving attitude amongst those proclaiming to be Islam,
thoroughly agree with Ayah Pin. I had in fact gone to his retreat, quite
exhausted by such treatment to find respite and, to find, through
meditation, inspiration for my music.
At Ayah's retreat, so carelessly dubbed by my fellow countryman as a teapot
sect, I experienced none of the above, felt totally welcomed and utterly at
peace, until the first physical sign of the vendetta against Ayah, and his
followers; the arrest on in early July, without warrants, of 21 of my new
friends, released several hours later on extortionist bale. Their crime?
They were found to be in possession of videos taken of a trip Ayah made to
Bali (in 2003) where he spoke and was consequently honored by leaders of
both the Hindu and Christian faiths.
Ayah Pin does not convert. He has often stated, God sent each soul to the
circumstances best suited for each individual's development and he asks his
followers to utilize the precepts laid down in the original texts. Ayah
welcomes practitioners of all the faiths, even those without to pray and
seek god on an individual basis. The Quran states, God honours highly the
Islam who opens his heart to the stranger, so why is Ayah Pin condemned for
'fraternizing" with those of other denominations?
Then came 18th July 4.30am. Often I meditated in these early hours,
especially if the sky was clear and the moon new or full, because it is so
still then and so beautiful. Previously, however, round midnight this night,
we were summoned to learn that a large crowd was expected to come and
protest the following day. At the brief meeting we were exhorted to stay
calm and preferably to remain in our rooms.
Friends had given me a room, free of charge. (NB No one is charged to attend
this retreat). My private room was at the back. It has wooden walls and
shuttered windows. A sound of shattering glass jolted me awake
Then came huge explosions, one after the other, more glass shattering and a
roaring of flames. I lay in the dark my heart pounding uncontrollably. What
were we to do? Stay inside until the violence reached our doors, until our
own refuges were engulfed in flames?
I dressed rapidly and opened my door. I could see nothing, just hear the
sound of people running, more explosions, some frantic calling. At some
stage I shoved clothes, my tapes, cassettes and songs I had written into
suitcase and stashed them in the concrete mandi (shower and toilet room)
along with my guitar.
Eventually two sisters (both English speaking) came and called me. 'They're
burning everything.' 'Oh god, they're destroying our place, Ayah's Pajero,
everything,' I asked if anyone had called the police. The answer chilled me.
'They've cut our telephone cables!' Batu 13, situated in a basin in a remote
area, has no facilities for hand phones. We were completely cut off, under a
violent attack with no access to help.
On reaching the terrace in front of the retreat's Assembly hall, I was
confronted with a scene that might have been depicted in a horror movie.
Ayah's Pajero, (bought for him by those who respect him and his otherwise
Spartan life-style) was continuously exploding, flames shooting high into
the sky. There were flames and black smoke pouring too, from burning tires
placed at every doorway and wooden structure on the site. In the light, I
could see shards of broken glass, smashed concrete posts aligning the
walkways, blacked structures, shattered pots and uprooted and broken plants.
Mercifully the culprits had fled. Someone had made a dash through the forest
to the nearest phone and called the police and fire brigade. They arrived
too late; too late to prevent the damage, too late to apprehend the
culprits.
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