Saturday, October 6, 2007

Forms / Borang

today i went to the post office to register myself as a voter. the registration process was simple, quick and hassle free. kudos to Pos Malaysia.

BUT there are few PROBLEMs that i'm not really happy with. i don't think its the fault of Pos Malaysia but SPR itself.

the registration process needs:
1. race / bangsa
2. agama / religion

WHY is it in malaysia that when we fill up forms, any forms lah..we have to state our race and religion 1. i tot we are bangsa malaysia! why in the forms got melayu, cina, india and sorts? why? then there's the agama thing. why do they need to know what religion that person subscribe to? is it relevant at all?

this also happen during our public exams. y students have to state their race and religion 1?

when i was registering, the person ask me for my religion, i saw all the options and u know what? i saw one option stating TIADA AGAMA. i was damn surprised that option even exists in our country. so i chose that and the person gave me THE LOOK, u know lah..then that person look towards a police officer. i mean what the heck! salah ke if i tiada agama! if dont like then dont put the option there lah. the person serving me was a malay lady. then she ask me, u pasti nak option ini? then i ask her, ada salinan bertulis ke? she say got, then i change lo coz i dont want to cause problems at home and later on. my grandma super conservative and if she finds out she will pressure my dad to give me a good scolding. my parents also dont approve of me being religionless. sad case lah !

20 comments:

Gilgamesh said...

Actually... I really don't know y they have that part for you to fill in, in the 1st place...

If it's for proper identification, then our MyKad works pretty well, right?

If it's for the purpose of wanting to classify the colour of our skin, then I think it's just weird...

If it's for survey purposes, like how many Malays, Chinese n Indians who vote this time around... Maybe relevant.. But still, our MyKAD leh? I thought it's stated...

If it's for policy/protocol purposes... Perhaps KJ has a point... We're bangsa Malaysia, do they really need to categorise who's who in this?

But then again, the question would be... What's the impact or rather what will happen if we fill in a box that states 'Bangsa M'sia'? No more Melayu, Cina, India or Lain-lain...

Hahaha... I bet there'll be a certain group of ppl who won't be used to it... Heck, even I'm one of them...

Oh, you know what? Maybe they ARE not use to NOT having this section to fill in... Just a thought...

Well, I don't know y they're still doing it but if they can come up with a damn good explanation then maybe it's ok for me, I guess... :)

We'll see...

Mc Chaoz said...

Dr. Carmen who is this hollow ataraxia? I can see that this person is giving good comment.Is it a he or she? Who ever you are, welcome to the blog.
KJ!!!! Very good, why are we suppose to fill in our race, If I'm not mistaken in yesterdays news Pak Lah said "Kita semua satu kaum". Then why do we have to fill in differrent races. Problems create due to this, race discrimination. The reason we are required to fill in our races is to make them easier to know are we Malay or not. That is the simple reason. As for the religion I dunno what to say because the thinds you have stated here are just against your family. I dont see the harm of ticking the tiada agama opinion, but it depends on the person actually.

Gilgamesh said...

Hmmm... U really sure that's the main reason behind all these? Just to find out if we're Malays or not?

Why would ppl wanna do that in the first place?

Just wondering, that it's kinda weird... (Scratch head...)

But of course, there's always an explanation for all these, good or bad...

Somehow i still think it's not really the reason...

Anyone? Any ideas?

KahJoon said...

sharwin, u're mistaken. the religion thing is not bcoz of my family matters oni..alot of ppl in our country cannot accept a person without religion. they regard ppl like me as "sesat"..

i alwiz ask them..what is so "sesat" for being a person without religion..they cant give me convincing answers.

Mc Chaoz said...

Maybe in our exam form thats the thing right. Haih! I dunno lah. I have been talking crap only. KJ I agree with you what is so "sesat " if you do not have a religion. And I can't understand why do others look at them one kind. Crazy rite! In my family religion is a big and important thing. I think about last year one of my relation stopped praticing hindu religion and you know what, everybody in my family stopped talking with him. But then he is an enginner and I can say he is rich. But then what is so "sesat" with him?

Gilgamesh said...

Hmmmm... Having no religion doesn't mean yuo're a lost soul...

I've always told this to ppl...

The most frightening discrimination is "INDIFFERENCE"!

Having no religion means putting yourself out of the norm... Automatically ppl class you as an 'alien' if you know what I mean...

They're afraid of the unknown, cos not many ppl, say a minority are atheists...

So it's up to us to dare to be different...

Don't worry KJ... You're not lost...

ViViEnNe said...

erm..ok...i rmb tat i read b4 in a book(and alot other books stated too im sure) that all d religion came from the same 'light'...and they have said how they have diff 'leaders' of diff religion to giv 'lectures' 'down there'...so its just diff lecturer diff style,..so it seems like...it doesnt matter whether you have the religion or nto as long as you have the light i guess...??(haha,i know alot of you,or several of you,must have heard about this from me...dont get bored ya..hahah)

KahJoon said...

i dont know about malaysia lah, but around the world the so called "faithless" ppl are fast growing and it is said to be a following that is the fifth biggest. i'm proud to be one.

maybe malaysian ppl degil thats y cannot accept ppl that are out of the norm. i would love to live in a country like france. france is a secular country and has no official religion. how cool is that lah. the law authorizing faithlessness..woohoo..

Gilgamesh said...

You know... I've always thought that religion was constructed by humans... So it's like we human are following other humans too right?

To KJ... To certain ppl, having a religion means having something extra, something to put your faith and believe in something... They dubbed the lost ones as having nothing to believe in...

I think things will change in the future... Maybe atheists will rule the world! Who knows right?

Y do ppl think that ppl who don't have a religion are lost in the first place?

What is it that scares these faihful ppl about those faithless ppl?

KahJoon said...

mich, like u said ppl are afraid of changes and things that of the norm. that is why they label ppl with no faith lost. they cant accept that a person dont hold on to a faith. thats my humble piece of opinion lah.

Gilgamesh said...

I'm afraid you're right... Certain ppl just can't accept other ppl's being no religion... Their idea of stereo typing I guess?

But then again, I just have this gut feeling that even ppl without religion have a unique faith and belief in something... Something really important to them.. Like they believe in paying forward a favour... Or life is about going thru obstacles and fighting battles(physically or spiritually)... Or just everyone is beautiful, inside and outside... I don't know... There are so many...

I really do believe that atheists have a deep sense of belonging to THEIR own religion... Govern only by THEIR rules and regulations.. No strings attached maybe... Who cares right? Just as long as everyone's happy, I don't give a damn lar... Hahahaha...

Carmen N said...

I know quite a few atheists--some of them are content to leave religious people alone, others want to proselytize atheism! hahahaha... needless to say, people who are religious, don't like the atheists.

A year ago, in CT class, two students did a presentation on "Does God exist?" It was a stellar presentation. Perhaps we must invite them to give their talk again to our group so that it can begin a more passionate debate since previously, there were no atheists in the audience.

I think people FEAR atheists because they cannot fathom NOT having a religion but still being able to act in accordance with a moral compass. Now, if all atheists were murderers, rapists, sickos who are out of control in society, people will feel happier. They will feel justified in hating and condemning atheists. But unfortunately, atheists tend to be rational, critical thinking people for the most part.

I am not generalizing... I am only saying that if one were indeed a conscious atheist who is very aware of why he or she is one, then it must mean that the person has really thought hard about it.

Frankly, it is tough to argue and believe that God does not exist when more than 60% of the world embraces some kind of faith. I do not know the actual statistics for how many people have a religion but I think 60% is a good bet without being too extreme on either end. hahaha... this is ill-informed opinion here, KJ. But I am more than ready to be disagreed with. If you have the facts that prove me wrong. This is healthy debate....

But ok.. I digress..

In any case, I would like to know where you are getting your info KJ, that atheists are growing? You have some websites you can point us too to verify your claims?

Thanks.

Carmen N said...

To answer the question about why have race in the voting registration... aiyo... use your CT cap!!!

If you know the race, it will mean you know which race vote for who. If you know which race vote for who, then you will know which candidate or party appeals to which race. You will also know how the Chinese voted since oftentimes, they are the most unpredictable voters and can carry a strong swing vote margin.

Finally, the more information you have about the voting pattern of different racial groups, then you can use this information to help you strategize how to WIN elections by appealing to the RIGHT race in the RIGHT place.

That's why BN govt was shocked by Ijok elections. Chinese people voted in a way that they could not predict.

We Chinese are damn unpredictable! hahahahah

KahJoon said...

dr carmen, i got the numbers from ur friends blog, fathi aris omar..he wrote about a review of a book title Atheist with attitude..i think i did post it in my blog also..

KahJoon said...

i'm proud being an atheist becoz i'm among renowned ppl..Voltaire, Bertrand Russell, Bill Gates, Richard Dawkins..alot of intellectuals are atheists.

J-Chee said...

Atheist = people who dont have a religion right?

Then.. when things went wrong.. when bad things happen.. e.g. your family members had something bad, say.. in coma.. What do / will you do?

Do you pray?

er.. kind of red herring to the question: why do we need race n religion columns in any forms haha, jz wan to respond to the atheist thing heh :) don angry ar~~

Gilgamesh said...

About this whole race thingy...

I saw a column in the pizza hut form where there's a spot for us to fill in our race...

I mean... WHAT IS THAT???

Does that mean different races of guests would be served differently?

Anyone working in a fast food joint lately?

Carmen N said...

Actually, to answer J-Chee's question, an atheist is NOT someone with no religion but someone who doesn't believe in God. So, someone who doesn't believe in God, would by default not believe in religion as well.

But that depends on how you interprete religion. An atheist can still adopt a religion of consumerism, for instance.... where shopping is the main ritual and God is money. hhahahahahahahh!!

As to who do they pray to? Well, I don't think that is a valid question, if you equate prayer with religion.

That's a good question about prayer though. KJ, any thoughts?

One of my ex-bf's is an atheist and to my knowledge, he never prays. He just reads and uses logic to explain stuff he can't understand. And when someone is in a coma... hmm... I don't think he's been in that situation.

KahJoon said...

oh, to answer your question about the prayer. hehe i dont pray 1..even when my family member is in a medical condition. i also dont pray b4 exams. bcoz i dont believe in miracles.

few years ago, when my grandfather was diagnosed with cancer. my whole family did pray except me bcoz i dont believe in this kind of things. i dont believe in the Ghost month thingy also. why have to burn hell money those kind of things.

Mc Chaoz said...

I cant answer that question KJ. It is what they call as "belief"