Help from Malaysian friends

Discussion in 'Chit-Chat' started by Gicutzu, Apr 20, 2011.

  1. Gicutzu

    Gicutzu Regular Member

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    I know there are a lot of Malaysians here on the forum, so maybe they could help me :)

    I'm writing a paper on the topic of Syariah courts in Malaysia in one of my college courses, and I'm interested in the positions of (mainly) race-based political parties. The parties have a huge web presence (websites, Facebook/Twitter/YouTube accounts, etc.), but their websites are usually in Bahasa Melayu. Since I don't speak the language, I would be much obliged if the Malaysian friends here on the forum could look through the websites and find e-mail addresses where I could send a short e-mail interview (a few questions) to the parties.

    I'm interested in the following parties:

    1. United Malay National Organisation (UMNO)
    2. Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA)
    3. Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC)
    4. Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu Sarawak (PBB)

    5. Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS)

    I just need a general e-mail address of the parties, or of some public relations department if they have one, or even of some important leader.

    Thank you very much in advance!
     
  2. Gicutzu

    Gicutzu Regular Member

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    The person/people who lend a helping hand will of course be acknowledged in the paper, either by name or anonimously (whichever he/she/they prefer).
     
    #2 Gicutzu, Apr 20, 2011
    Last edited: Apr 20, 2011
  3. Calvin789

    Calvin789 Regular Member

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  4. Gicutzu

    Gicutzu Regular Member

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    Thanks, but I'm specifically interested in race-based parties. Most of them have English versions of their websites too, but they're not as complete as the Malay/Chinese/whatever versions (i.e. they usually lack contact options, or they only have a postal address and phone numbers, which are useless to me). And it's tough to navigate the regular version of the websites when you don't speak the language...
     
  5. demolidor

    demolidor Regular Member

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  6. Bbn

    Bbn Regular Member

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    I hope you are aware that many parties in Msia have declared it as an Islamic State and it is forbidden to

    discuss Islamic matters and it is a jailable offence.

    Msia has a legal system fashioned after Britain holding Court over Civil and Criminal matters which are not Islamic. Islamic matters are covered by a syariah court which covers issues like family,divorce,probate and is under the jurisdiction of each of 13 states and not a national matter.

    Civil courts have no jurisdiction over Syariah Courts which cover religious matters, not criminal cases or business which come under Acts and Common Law.

    There are many articles written on it which you can find in sites like :

    1) Lawyerment
    2) Sisters of Islam
    3) Sites like the DAP can only point you to many articles written by Religious leaders or academics on the subject as they have some legal protection from prosecution.

    The best way is to search web-sites of local religious leaders who will be able to give you a wide repertoire of interpretations, which you can follow up if references are given.Non Muslims here will not want to offer you any answers on Syariah Courts.

    I think you live close enough to Bosnia,Serbia or Croatia to be able to understand the problems.
     
    #6 Bbn, Apr 20, 2011
    Last edited: Apr 20, 2011
  7. Gicutzu

    Gicutzu Regular Member

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    Thanks for the advice. I knew some of the things you said, and I understand your points, but I don't intend to discuss Islamic matters per se, just the institution of the Syariah courts. Is that illegal as well? I assume political parties should be able to voice their opinion on an institution which exists in the States and in the Federal Territories and which functions according to federal and state laws... If it's illegal for parties to discuss the Syariah courts, then I might as well give up on e-mailing them...

    Also, I wasn't asking anyone at BC to offer me answers on Syariah courts, I was only asking for e-mail addresses of some political parties, which I thought might be easier to find if you speak Malay/Chinese/etc. I remember trying to find the addresses and only coming upon one or two of them, so I asked for help...
     
    #7 Gicutzu, Apr 21, 2011
    Last edited: Apr 21, 2011
  8. Gicutzu

    Gicutzu Regular Member

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    Must you make me look like an idiot in every single thread? :(

    Just kidding, thanks for your help. I had found the Chinese one or the Indian one before, but I had a lot of trouble with UMNO, so thanks for that especially.

    Can't seem to find one for PAS, so I guess I could write to their leader, Dato' Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.

    As for the PBB, I'm probably gonna give them up, since from what I've seen on some of their blogs they aren't really all that different from other Malay-oriented or Islamic-oriented parties (I thought the "native" Sarawak component would be stronger).
     
  9. Bbn

    Bbn Regular Member

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    Many political parties who are not Muslim will not comment on Syariah matters because it does not concern or affect the people they represent.

    It is fishing in troubled waters. Syariah Courts try Muslims only for things like apotapsy, conversion, khalwat etc and dont involve non-muslims.

    I think it is strange why you want to involve politicians, getting feedback on the ground from average Muslims affected (esp women) and Syariah lawyers and ulammas who know the Courts seem more relevant.
     
  10. Gicutzu

    Gicutzu Regular Member

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    I'm studying political science and most of the stuff we do is based on political parties... I could study the impact of the Courts on the Muslim population, but my intention is to show that Syariah courts are an effective way to manage the problems that come with applying Islamic law in a country which has a sizeable non-Muslim population. All I'm trying to ask the non-Muslim parties is if they think that the practice of having separate courts is an effective solution as well, or if they feel that their communities run into problems when it comes to the Courts (which should never happen if the laws are followed).
     
  11. samsudd_s

    samsudd_s Regular Member

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    bro, pls gimme ur email. we will continue from there......:)
     
  12. Gicutzu

    Gicutzu Regular Member

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    Thanks for the offer, but now that I'm reading this I think Bbn is right. What I wrote seems kinda nonsensical:

    It's probably better for my purpose to just go by the laws and show that having separate Courts is a successful way of applying Islamic law only to Muslims, and not to stir up dust and get some propaganda fed from the political parties (which probably won't answer or won't want to comment anyway).

    I'll probably do an interview with an Islamic lawyer or an ulamma like Bbn suggested, to provide an insight into how the Courts work, and stop at that (I found a book on how they work already, but it goes into too much detail about specific cases - I'll probably try to get a more general look at the functioning of the Courts).
     
  13. samsudd_s

    samsudd_s Regular Member

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    yup, totally agreed. Gudluck anyway in ur paper....

    cheers.
     
  14. Gicutzu

    Gicutzu Regular Member

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    Thanks!

    What makes it even better is that I don't have to acknowledge demolidor in my paper anymore ;):D:p
     
  15. Bbn

    Bbn Regular Member

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    The country's constitution is based on a parliamentary democracy based on Western type laws. Each state is allowed to

    make its own laws to govern the Muslim population. Syariah laws are based on interpretations of the Quran and are of a religious nature,

    it would be difficult for non-muslims to know the Quran.Non-muslims are not allowed to become Syariah lawyers.

    It is the dream of PAs to change the constitution and make all laws based on Islam therefore the concept of an Islamic State.

    I am not Muslim but I think there are serious issues concerning rights of women , conversions, etc. and I wouldn't want to get involved because it does not concern me and also I am not willing to give up my basic human rights in this modern competitive world.

    Good luck on your research.
     
  16. Gicutzu

    Gicutzu Regular Member

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    Thanks for all the info, Bbn.

    I chose Malaysia as a topic of research because it's one of the few self-defined "Islamic states" where such a big part of the population is non-Muslim (maybe even the only one), and it's interesting to see how this is being managed.

    I also chose Malaysia because I like the country a lot, and I apologize if I in any way offended any Malaysian. This was definitely not my intention.
     
  17. eaglehelang

    eaglehelang Regular Member

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  18. Bbn

    Bbn Regular Member

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    Yes it is always difficult to know a society well until you have lived in it. The Muslim population is slightly more than 50 % and whilst
    Western Laws are still in force, there is a continuous struggle between those with the pragmatic type Islam in Turkey on one extreme and the
    old world Taliban type in Afghanistan or Pakistan advocating stoning for adultery, chopping off hands for stealing and death for apotapsy.
    I think you could consider changing the setting, Indonesia,Pakistan,India or Saudi would be better models.
     
  19. Gicutzu

    Gicutzu Regular Member

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    It's too late to change the topic since the prof. approved this one and we're not allowed to modify it, but what I probably will do is not conduct any sort of interviews and just base my paper on existing books/laws/articles. I thought of interviews because there didn't seem to be enough literature, but I did some more research and I think I have enough for a 20-something page paper.

    Anyhoo, today is my mother's birthday and then I'm leaving Vienna and going around Europe for a week, so I don't want to hear anything about schoolwork anymore until the Easter vacation ends :D

    A big thank you goes out to all my Malaysian brothers (hope I'm not offending you by calling you brothers :D) and to demolidor :p!
     

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