Black Eyed Peas concert - only for non-Muslims!

You can't blame the organisers of the Black Eyed Peas concert coming up in Selangor at the end of next month. It's sponsored by a beer company and every attempt is being made to make it sound like a non-liquor event. From what we are told, it is just a concert. Who else has the money these days besides the cigarette and beer boys, with the exception of the mobile phone operators? The biggest act, Black Eyed Peas, is performing but wait - it's only for non-Muslims and naturally Muslim fans are fuming. The no Muslim decision is reportedly imposed by the Information, Communicatio and Culture Ministry.

Muslims, too, want to be there to enjoy the concert but that does not mean that they have to drink. They just want to have a good time, that's all. But the corporate world is playing safe now. Such"non-Muslims only" restriction is usually placed at Christian functions and meetings, especially for faith-healing sessions, but never for a concert. It's unprecedented but that's what the authorities want.

Non-Muslims are worried and confused. For example, the decision by Selangor PAS chief Hassan Ali to allow mosque officials to arrest Muslims who consume liquor has actually gone a step further - Muslims can also be penalised for selling or storing liquor. This has placed 7 Eleven employees, who are mainly Muslims, in a big fix.

The law is there and it would probably not be fully enforced but all it takes is just one case for a poor worker to be made an example, as in Kartika, who was caught drinking. After all, there have been Muslim pub workers being arrested in some states.

The so-called "compromise" between the DAP and PAS following the spat between the two parties has ended up in a worse scenario than before. 7-11 outlets are now talking about replacing Muslim workers with non-Muslims. That means foreigners. But this is not what it should be.

Genting hires thousands of Muslim workers although their jobs are not related to gaming or serving liquor. But they are still beneficiaries of a gaming operator, as are the state and federal governments from tax revenue. Money has been used from such taxes for development. No one differentiates where the money comes from. Malaysia Airline serves liquor too and the job is done by Muslim flight assistants but that doesn't mean that they consume liquor.

It looks like another "boom boom pow" situation for Malaysia and another "black eye" once word gets out to the international media who are beginning to have this perception that Malaysia is losing its moderate image. What next? Another press statement from PAS Youth to ban the concert altogether? Oh, they are so predictable and many of us still want them to run this country. And some Umno politicians are now trying to out do PAS to win back the votes, it's all very confusing.

■ Black Eyed Peas plays a concert at Sunway Surf Beach, Sunway Lagoon in Selangor on Sept 25.

Chua Soi Lek sacked - what next?

It's has to come to this finally. The parting of ways between the two estranged MCA leaders has finally taken place. The MCA presidential council, which met passed midnight, endorsed a decision by the disciplinary board to sack deputy president Chua Soi Lek. Chua now has 14 days to appeal. In a statement issued after the meeting, it said the decision was made after giving much consideration "to the damage inflicted upon the party brought about by Dr Chua's DVD sex scandal." What next? The central committee is almost certain to endorse the stand taken by the presidential council. Meanwhile, supporters of CSL are certain to express their unhappiness over the latest development with supporters of OTK endorsing the sacking.

Zul Nordin defends Lunas state assemblyman

Lunas state assemblyman Mohd Radzi Salleh (picture), who has quit PKR to be an independent, may be facing a barrage of criticism from the Pakatan Rakyat but maverick PKR MP Zulkifli Nordin is defending the defector. The Kulim Bandar Baharu MP has even asked his PKR colleagues not to be too critical of Mohd Radzi Salleh.

The state assemblyman has suddenly found himself turned into an incompetent and lazy elected representative overnight. His former comrades are probably saying that he has been bought over. PAS vice-president Mahfuz Omar described Radzi as a liability and that his departure was a necessary cleaning-up process.

But Zulkifli has blogged that Mohd Radzi had worked tirelessly when he was state exco member in charge of tourism. Zulkifli has revealed that the reason for Radzi's decision to quit was his unhappines over the direction of Pakatan Rakyat, particularly the DAP's role in Kedah. Others believed he wasn't happy with talk that Anwar Ibrahim wanted him to quit his seat for a forced by-election.

Zulkifli said Mohd Radzi wanted to see Muslim unity be given greater emphasis. Zulkifli also said Radzi's decision to leave PKR must be respected. Zulkifli isn't likely to get much admiration for his latest posting. In fact, there could even be speculation as to where this controversial lawyer-politician could be heading next.

Call to ban MLTR: PAS must learn to rock!

Here we go again. PAS wants the upcoming concert featuring Michael Learns To Rock in Genting Highlands to be scrapped because of the fasting month. Its Youth chief Nasrudin Hassan Tantawi (picture) has warned the organisers that a demonstration would be held if the organisers ignore the warning.

The concert, featuring the group of aging Danish pop rockers, has been labelled as a Festival of Sins. At least, the turbaned PAS leader did not call these singers "sexy" as the party did against Avril Lavigne the last time. He has lambasted the BN for allowing the concert, which he described as an insult to Muslims. Nasrudin also wants Muslim NGOs to join the party in the protest. Nasrudin, a Jordanian graduate in religious studies, is regarded as a hardliner in the party.

I am not sure if Nasrudin has even heard of MLTR but the band is over 20 years old. These guys are known for singing sentimental numbers and are hardly the gyrating, long-haired acid rocker types. He is also obviously not aware that the various authorities have met the concert organisers on guidelines during fasting month. They were told that open air concerts would be disallowed during the fasting month as a mark of respect to Muslims, which is fair enough.

The government must, however, also undertstand the rights of non-Muslims and have such concerts in closed venues such as indoor stadiums and hotels. In the case of MLTR, it would be held at the Arena of Stars. Even if the concert is not held, the casinos at Genting Highlands would be running full steam. PAS is merely protesting for the sake of protesting.

Earlier, Selangor PAS chief and state exco member Dr Hassan Ali said state mosque officials including the imam, bilal and siak can now arrest Muslims drinking in public places. Dr Hassan had an open spat recently with DAP's Ronnie Liu over the sale of beer at 7 Eleven outlets in Shah Alam.

A bond too strong to break

I look forward to every Ramadan. I have to confess that I have never attempted to join my Muslim colleagues and friends to fast in this holy month.

But it is the sense of camaraderie and brotherhood that I enjoy every year.

It has become an unwritten rule at the newsroom every year that the evening meeting would have to be held an hour earlier so that our Muslim – and non-Muslim – colleagues can attend the breaking fast functions.

The call to end the meetings early, interestingly, often comes from the non-Muslims. This is the best part of working in an office with a multi-racial staff. Jibes are made at each other over fasting patterns or the lack of it without any prejudices.

The rule at every Ramadan is to pick the newest member of the newsroom to interview the food sellers at Section 14 in Petaling Jaya and to buy for us the mouth-watering popiah, a crowd favourite.

For the full reflection of my On The Beat column, click here.

The reality hits home: Coping with the AH1N1 virus.

You know the AH1N1 problem has struck home when your loved ones, colleagues and friends are hit by the influenza. There are already 67 fatalities and the likelihood is the figures will increase. A fellow editor is now being quarantined at home after a bout of bad flu but she is recovering at home. The workaholic MStar journalist is filing news from her home.

Last week, another editor from MStar, the Bahasa Malaysia portal of The Star, and his family were kept at home after his fever refused to come down. After checking at a hospital, it was relief to know that the fever was caused by viral infection and not AH1N1.

A colleague from the In Tech section was also a suspect after his son was confirmed an AH1N1 victim. But thank God, both have recovered. Two Penang reporters, covering the Permatang Pasir by-election, have now been quarantined.

The series of sickness affecting my colleagues have been worrying. A reporter at a business publication was confirmed a virus victim last week and the entire multi-media section was shut down. Newspaper offices are now making emergency plans of working from home if the situation worsens. Visitors to our office have been asked to clean their hands with hand sanitizer at the lobby reception before making their way to the various departments.

For reporters attending functions at crowded places, we have handed out facial masks for them but it is probably more difficult for reporters covering the hospital beat. It's an occupational hazard. I remembered when the Nipah Virus hit in 2000, many of us had to visit pig farms where thounsands of the sick animals were culled. Some reporters fell sick after a while.

The fear is that with summer over in Europe and the United States, the flu situation could worsen. The prediction is that millions could be infected soon, especially students who would be starting classes in schools and colleges. The latest issue of Time reported that in the US, the sheer size of the pandemic response has begun to hit home. Immunization has started in schools and nurses are even placed in some schools. Local health departments are preparing to enlist private sector doctors and nurses to aid the effort with plans to rent empty shoplots and reopening vacant schools for the worst case scenario.

Back in Malaysia, there are concerns that our people are not displaying self-discipline with people who are supposed to be quarantined supposedly going shopping instead, without consideration for the rest of us. We have to get used to the idea that this is serious and that politicians should not be worried with media reports of the AH1N1. It's not a question of keeping tourists away but a matter of taking the necessary steps to prevent ourselves from falling sick.

Fighting AH1N1: Come on, this is a joke, right?

In case, you missed this Bernama story - an eminent practitioner of complimentary therapy Dr VM Palaniappan (picture, from his blog) has been quoted as saying that among the measures one can take against influenza AH1N1 is to avoid masturbation and homosexual activities. Yes, that's what the good doctor said. He reportedly said that "such activities caused the body to develop friction heat which in turn produced acid and makes the body hyper-acidised."

The former professor of ecology at Universiti Malaya went on to say that "the body becomes an easy target for H1N1 infection." The academcian, according to the report, has authored several books on complimentary therapy called Ecological Healing System.

He emphasised that normal sexual union between members of the opposite sex was absolutely safe, adding that his 33 years of research showed that high acidity in the body resulted in the loss of immunity, making people susceptible to viral diseases like influenza H1N1.

He has also recommended drinking coconut water, which is an alkaline, for the prevention of AH1N1. Other fruits - orange, lemon and pomelo - which contains citric acid.

I am not sure whether this small Bernama news item made it to world news but we are certainly learning something new everyday. You can either take what the good professor tells you seriously or laugh over it. But hey, we are living in dangerous times.