| Dina Zaman writes to find answers. Sometimes she doesn't. If she's not spending too much money on books, it's household items. She would like everyone to be happy. |
Diversity in a surau
August 25, 2010AUG 25 — The women’s surau in our office building is tucked away in a carpark and near the management office. It’s small and clean, and functions well as a place for prayers. Sometimes it is the simple things that count. Ornate places of worships which are empty and devoid of soul somehow remind me of mausoleums. And office suraus, well, they brim with … Read More
How to make money in Malaysia
August 06, 2010AUG 6 — Ini cerita pasal saka.She wept copious tears. Writing that sentence makes the whole scenario sound very clichéd, but that was the truth.She did not cry because she had repented. She cried because it had been so hard for her, this life she had. Her late father worked for the DO’s office, so her family wasn’t just from the kampung. They had … Read More
Starting from scratch: Documenting stateless children
June 30, 2010JUNE 30 — This takes the cake. We’ve started this documentation project for a few months now, and as a volunteer project co-ordinator, I’m pulling my hair out because none of us know how to begin.There is a sure ending: to provide the government of Malaysia a review of the Adoption Act (civil and Syariah) and a qualitative and quantitative study on (1) … Read More
What are we teaching our young women?
June 16, 2010JUNE 16 — This question came about when a male friend and I had lunch. He and his male friends were talking about how the women they met would always assess their finances and “potential” before moving on to richer men.And my friend and his friends are not in the poverty bracket; they are professionals, financially responsible, and take care of their … Read More
My very brief (I think) affair with Special Branch
May 26, 2010MAY 26 — There was this one time when I worked for a political personality, and the Special Branch (SB) and I became quite acquainted with each other.It all started when a colleague asked why there was a Malay man eating and sitting on a kerb, in the hot sun, facing our office. He sat there and just looked at our office as he enjoyed his lunch. We thought … Read More
An encounter with some Afghans
May 12, 2010MAY 12 — The small community of Afghan refugees residing in Kuala Lumpur is facing an internal crisis. In halting English, translators from the community tell volunteers who have come to donate sundries and meet them, that sometimes it is difficult to engage with someone whom they perceive could be from another tribe.When it comes to Afghans, it is all … Read More
Conversations with people
May 05, 2010MAY 5 — Pastor Sivin Kit is not an unknown name among Christians and Malaysians who engage in inter-faith discussions. I had heard his name before, bandied about among cultural activists, and we made contact on Twitter. His tweets on his thesis, congregation and family exhibit calm and a lot of love.We finally met at Starbucks. To talk about our country, … Read More
The words of death and longing
April 21, 2010APRIL 21 — We had been trading telephone texts, and e-mails with each other. This would be what one would call a literary affair. Once upon a time, I had embroiled myself in one.Many years ago, when the Internet had just arrived in Malaysia, and I wrote a column for a newspaper, I struck up a friendship with a man I shall call Sweets. He introduced me to … Read More
Mercy in Islam
April 01, 2010April 1 — Syukur Alhamdullilah should be on Kartika Sari Dewi Sukarno’s tongue and heart right now.Her caning sentence was commuted by the Sultan of Pahang the day before she surrendered herself to the Pahang Islamic authorities.The 33-year-old part-time model was supposed to be caned six times last August for the 2008 offence but it was called off at … Read More
So now women are supposed to be porn stars, too?
March 25, 2010MARCH 25 — For all this talk about women’s progress, why are we constantly being bombarded by articles and information on how to become a porn star? Isn’t it enough that we must know how to juggle finances, have a glass ceiling-breaking career, wear the latest and most expensive clothes and accessories? And now, we are expected to have about 50 lovers … Read More
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