Foong Speaks Her Mind

Night time cries, sleepless nights and sleeping apart

Foong — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:04:11 +0000

I remember when I used to get a full night’s sleep without disturbances. I get my full 8 hours beauty sleep. I could wake up early. I was not sleepy all the time.

Now…I can’t remember the last time I had a full night’s undisturbed sleep.

My son is almost three now but he is still waking up in the middle of the night but not for milk. Mostly, it is because of the weather.

Yep. We live in an area where it is quite cold at night regardless of whether it rained the whole day or it was darn hot the whole day. So, when he gets too cold, he’d wake up and start calling for me. And I have to go over to his room (yes, he sleeps in his own room!) and camp over at his room for the night.

This has been happening so much and on such a daily basis, it is wearing me down. For one thing, I work late into the night most days. It’s due to my part-time job as freelance writer and it involves a lot of online work. And by that, I mean A LOT of work in looking for jobs. I check up on job boards and etc to bid on projects. Nowadays, it is lagging quite a bit since India is spoiling our market. They are blardy bidding $2 per hour and even $1 per article rates. Blardy crazy. I sure as hell am not gonna write 100s of words for a measly $1 or $2! So, a lot of ‘buyers’ are choosing those with these ultra low stupid bids.

On top of that, I have my blogging to keep up and several other websites to maintain. Also, I have two major personal projects I am working on but hardly have time to really ‘work on it’. Yep, I have obviously bitten off more than I can chew at this moment in time. I realised that and now, I am considering letting one or two of my blogs just die off…but I don’t know which one to ‘kill’ off. Yet.

But I digress.

So, I usually work till 2am to 3am everyday and my son will wake up around 3.30am or 5am (whatever time when it gets cold) and I had just dragged myself into bed. So, in the end, I’d drag myself over to his room and just collapse onto his kingsize mattress (yeah, his bed is much much bigger than our puny Queen size bed) and sleep there.

That’s why I am sleeping apart from my husband most days. Sometimes, he’d also go over to my son’s room and we’d all three sleep there with my son in between of us. So, yeah, we sleep apart A LOT. And I realise this is not that good for any marriage.

I really don’t know what to do anymore. Short of moving my son to our room, it seems like I will have to sleep in two rooms every night, a few hours in my room and a few hours in my son’s room. I shudder to think what would have happened if a second child comes along.

I’d probably have to ‘permanently’ move into their room!

I know, many seasoned parents will say that all this will pass and I will look back and wish they would need me as much as my son does now before he becomes a sullen, angst-filled, rebellious teenager who’d rather be dead than be seen with his mom.

But for now, I barely have five hours of sleep every day for the past year or so. I think I am more like a walking zombie by now and sometimes, I don’t even know what I am typing here anymore…. Even now, I am so darn sleepy, the words are swimming before my eyes even as I tyep…

Zzzzzz…….

The things I do at 2am It is 2am. Just a while ago, it was raining...
Sweaty night at 2am full of kneading and rolling It is an eerily quiet night. The Hungry Ghost month...
Foong goes MIA… Not to Kamunting though. Much as I like a free...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

We do live in a men’s world after all

Foong — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:48:01 +0000

When I read this exclusive piece of news in Malaysiakini, I was not in the least surprised by it. I mean, what is new? Since we already have government-sanctioned racism, might as well throw in sexism, right?

Oh wait. I forgot. The whole world is a sexist place. Not because most men are against women or that most women are against men. It is the way we are made.

We are infinitely different and as is proven when it comes to racial issues (due to differences), there are bound to be disagreements. And it is a fact that we do live in a men’s world.

If you look around you, anywhere in the world, you’d notice. Men rule the world. Men makes the majority of the lawmakers. Since it is a men’s world, naturally, laws side them. Naturally, everything is tilted their way and it is always the women who are considered less significant and unimportant.

Even in this modern society, anywhere you go, you’d see sexism everywhere.

Why else are so many countless women abused by the ones who were supposed to protect them?

Why else are there so many rape and murder cases and yet, women are blamed for ‘not being careful’ or worse ‘because of her dressing’ when the perpetrator should be the one blamed?

Why else do you think that in certain companies, women are paid less compared to men and women gets less chance of promotions even when they outperform the men in the company?

Why else do you think that there is still this ‘male supremacy’ syndrome everywhere?

Though I do admit that we are different and different strengths and weaknesses, but is it even right for men to think less of women just because we are not made like them? In the former UM VC’s words:

“Just because we are women and we don’t have that thing between the legs so we are not good,” she told Malaysiakini in an one-hour interview today held at her new office at UM.

Sigh. When will we ever arrive at a point where equality is not just a distant dream despite it being spouted day in day out everywhere? When will we ever arrive at a point where women are given the same respect as men? When will we ever arrive at a point where women’s role in this world is recognised to be equally important as the men’s role?

When?

And I shall end this post with this quote to prove my point about women being treated as less important and less competent in a men’s world:

Explaining her allegation of gender bias, Rafiah said she recently learnt that the women VCs were only given a two-year contract while male VCs were given a three-year contract.

- Malaysiakini

The world financial crisis is very real and it will hit us too It is worrying that amidst all these political shenanigans, the...
How not to ruin a marriage and live happily ever after Divorce rates are on the rise. It is unavoidable. It...
I am not all that proud to be Malaysian It is oft said that Malaysians should be proud of...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Foong — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 18:01:09 +0000

I WANT to be rich and famous!

Heheh…I’m sure we have all been asked this common question when we were small and now, we are asking the same thing of our children or those still in school. From young, I already knew what I wanted to be. I have a very clear goal and one strong passion. Till now, that passion is still there and though the goal is not achieved, I know I am getting there.

Someday. So what was and is my passion?

Well…

It is definitely not to be an astronaut

Although it would have been ultra cool to go up to space. Although I may or may not be able to earn millions just by giving talks after going up to space as a pretend astronaut. Although I may be heaped with tonnes of praises and a former astronaut from US will even come here to give talks to convince the people that I am a real astronaut and not the space tourist… but no. Never dreamed of being an astronaut.

I could never be a ballet dancer

For one thing, I never took up ballet dancing classes and another thing, I am such a clumsy ox, I think I might just break something if I ever attempt to prance around on tiptoes and in leotards! Goodness, imagine. ME, in leotards? And PINK? Uggghhhh… I’m not in the least girly and uggghhh…I’d rather be dead than caught wearing pink leotards! I’d look like a pink elephant!

I can't be a clown either

I am no fashionista BUT still, I’d not be caught dead wearing colourful polka dots with humongous shoes! Besides, I am way too serious and sarcastic to clown around.

Ooohhh..I wouldn't mind looking like this

Wow. If being a lion tamer means looking like that, I don’t mind one bit! Just gimme a figure like that and I wouldn’t mind taming lions and tigers and any wild animals for life. I’d even do it humanely but not in a circus setting since they are known to abuse their poor, poor performing animals.

I have always had this fascination with BIG cats like lions and tigers. Just wish I could touch one…

Nope, can't be a tattoo artist either

So, yeah, sure I have a tattoo but I’d prefer someone to tattoo me than the other way around. I am just so squeemish about holding onto a total stranger and poking millions of holes into the person using a fine needle dipped in paint. Uggh.

And no, I am not a doctor, engineer nor accountant. I had none of those common, common boring ‘goals’.

What I want to be and what I do know is far different but I know I am working to reach my goal. Well, at least when I have the time. Perhaps my day will come in future.

Curious?

Heheh…make a wild guess lor.To the few who know me personally, eh, please don’t ‘pua kang tau’ (blab and tell all). There’s a reason why I kept this blog anonymous, okay?

All shall be revealed in due course.

The things I do at 2am It is 2am. Just a while ago, it was raining...
What every woman should have I am gonna do a lazy post this time around...
I am at it again at 1am! I don't know why is it that I like to...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Racial issue again????

Foong — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 01:25:51 +0000

Sigh…not a day can pass by without some fireworks over some racial issue between those monkeys politicians either in parliament or now at the Penang state assembly as reported by Malaysiakini:

The fireworks started when Deputy Chief Minister (II) Dr P Ramasamy accused the Umno-controlled Public Service Department (PSD) of ‘tearing up’ job application forms submitted by non-Malays.

-Malaysiakini

I wouldn’t know whether it is true or not since I am not a government servant but all this bickering over racial issues (because obviously this is a racial issue) is getting rather tiring.

And sickening.

And old.

And carries bad connotations for the people as a whole.

The society and the world as a whole would have been a better place if we all ARE colour blind and have the wide-eyed innocence of children.

It is situations like this that reminds me part of the lyrics of Michael Learns To Rock’s Sleeping Child:

If all the people around
The world
They had a mind like yours
We’d have no fighting and no wars
There would be lasting peace on earth
If all the kings and all
The leaders
Could see you here this way
They would hold the earth in their arms
They would learn to watch you play

And here’s a video of the complete song…

I don’t know why but each time I listen to this song, I get moved to tears. Not only because of how beautiful the song is but because of how true the lyrics are and how helpless we all are in the face of so much turmoil in the world.

When will we ever look beyond skin colour just like the way small children perceive people?

For my son, any girl older than him is ‘che che’ (that’s older sister in chinese), any boy older than him is ‘kor kor’ (that’s older brother in chinese), any children younger than him are ‘baby’ (since he’s a toddler, so anyone younger than him are obviously babies) and adults are all ‘uncle’ and ‘auntie’.

He doesn’t know the cute little girl he played with during a dinner function is a Malay and though he doesn’t speak Malay, the two of them had a smashing fun time running around and laughing in joy.

He also doesn’t know the bubbly chubby baby he touched and cuddled during our vacation is white and seemed to like touching her chubby fingers and watching her coo and smile.

He did not notice the ‘kor kor’ he always meet in the elevator is Indian.

Nor did he notice the auntie or uncle who’d smile and talk to him are Chinese, Malay, Indian, etc, etc…

So, yes, I totally agree with MLTR:

If all the people around
The world
They had a mind like yours
We’d have no fighting and no wars
There would be lasting peace on earth

When will we adults ever learn to GROW UP and think like children?

If only we’d all look and think of the sleeping child:

Every time we have…

Violent thoughts

Racial thoughts

Evil thoughts

We’d realise that we are only caretakers of this world for the future generations.

Sigh..sometimes I don’t even know why I bother to read the online news like Malaysiakini every day when it is so depressing.

I am not all that proud to be Malaysian It is oft said that Malaysians should be proud of...
At least Zaid has more common sense than others I never thought I'd read such statements from an Umno...
The significance of Obama’s landslide victory It took America 200 years to finally break through the...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Why my personal blog is not so personal

Foong — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 19:34:57 +0000

I have been calling this blog a ‘personal’ blog since I started it months ago and now after going through some of my old blog posts…I realise that it is not that personal after all.

It is filled with sarky SoPo posts.

It is filled with angry rantings.

It is filled with lists after lists of stuffs.

It is filled with tips and non-tips disguised as tips.

It is filled with, well, sarcasm.

Hmm, so where is this blog heading anyway? I don’t really know. It was started as a way for me to vent my feelings but somehow, I only rant what I felt is not too personal and I stay away from anything that is way too personal.

Maybe because I like keeping my anonymity. Revealing too much about my personal life kinda break the anonymity.

But then it could be because there are some people who are reading my blog and then using the info here against me (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!).

I mean, this is a blog FFS. I can blardy effing blog whatever I want, isn’t it?

Wrong.

What I say or blog in this blog can and will be used against me in times of need.

And I don’t mean the authorities and the pro-ISA-morons.

That’s what’s so blardy tiring and frustrating and annoying about blogging. I am supposed to be able to rant and vent at will but still…I have to practise some self-control. Because of THEM.

So once again, I’d like to make it clear:

My blogging personality MAY NOT be the same as my real life personality, GEDDIT?

My blog is my blog is MY BLOG. I paid for the hosting. I spent the hours blogging on it. So, I HAVE THE BLARDY right to BLOG WHAT I WANT, GEDDIT?

You have complains? Go start your own blog.

By the way, don’t you think sunsets are so beautiful regardless of the location? I just love the way the skies turned into a kaleidescope of hues, like a painter’s pallette.

And do you know that the best way to study human nature is by taking walks in parks and public places like Gurney Drive? You’d see all sorts of people doing alll sorts of things.

And isn’t this SO pretty?

Patterns of a leaf

A blog is… According to Webster: - an online diary; a personal chronological...
Should Kit Siang change his blog post? If you've been following the news, I am sure you...
OMG! My old blog has a PR 5! I am flabbergasted and shocked beyond words. I mean I...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

I am a blogger so yes, I HATE politicians

Foong — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 10:21:11 +0000

From ALL parties.

Regardless of colour, creed, corruption, cleanliness, etc.

I don’t like Umno.

I don’t like MCA.

I don’t like Gerakan.

I don’t like DAP.

I don’t like PKR.

I don’t like PAS.

And I sure as hell don’t like BN and PR which are made up of all the above.

At one point, I was a bit influenced by LGE and felt that he is doing good work for Penang. So, yes, at one point, I was swayed and did heap some praises on the PR state government of Penang.

I admit I was bought over by all the good publicity and the seemingly ‘wonderful’ things they are doing for the state.

I am human after all. I make mistakes and erred in judgment sometimes.

Now, I am wide awake and have realised my mistakes. I have always professed to hating politicians and NOT TAKING ANY BLARDY sides.

Well, today, I shall reinforce that statement. I will NOT TAKE ANY BLARDY EFFING sides if I do any SoPo posts.

Simply because I am sick and tired of reading other one-sided posts from the media, heck, even from bloggers!

Might as well come to my own conclusions myself.

Other bloggers can take whichever sides they want, I don’t care. As long as I don’t take sides, I am at peace with myself.

So, please do remember. I will criticise and hit out at any IDIOT politician, regardless of which party the idiot is from. Spare me your protestations on how GREAT the idiot is.

I don’t BLARDY care. Okay?

This is my blog so what I blog is my business. You have anything against it, just blardy EFF off.

Now that we have that outta the way…

This is to all of those who left comments here in the last few days…

Sorry ler I didn’t reply. I was kinda busy elsewhere and was breezing in and outta my blogs, not that I don’t want to reply. Although there were some comments that are DARN idiotic (which made me want to write another full ranting post on the idiocy of some people), some of you are my regular readers..so err…thank you to my regulars for commenting lor.

Next time I will reply you.Really. Heheh.

By the way, if you are on Stumbleupon, ADD me lar! I am also on StumbleUpon. You can also follow me on Twitter.

The reasons I hate politics and politicians It is everywhere, in the workplace, at home, on the...
A Dummies Guide to Reading Blogs There are more than 2 million blogs in the World...
Dr M is now a blogger too! Looks like blogging has become a new IN thing for...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Meet the newest member of our family

Foong — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:32:52 +0000

I’ve been waiting for his arrival for a few days already and finally, he is here!

My son absolutely loves the new member of our family….

Now, let me tell you a bit more about his grand arrival.

The arrival of our newest member of the family is pretty unorthodox. I didn’t know when he’d arrive but I was just waiting and waiting and waiting.

Until.

Finally.

This came:

A special delivery

So what is inside this plain plastic bag?

I opened it up and behold!

My long-awaited package from WWF has finally arrived!

Inside this nice WWF bag is…

Meet Orntan, the newest member of our family

Why Orntan? Well, my toddler couldn’t pronounce Orang Utan in full and ended up he called it Orntan, thus our new family member has been named as Orntan.

The coolest part about this package, I also get an Adoption Certificate!

An orang utan has been symbolically adopted on behalf of Foong

Just look at that cute furry face…who could resist this?

Meet Orntan the Orang Utan

So, how did I ended up ’symbolically’ adopting an Orang Utan?

Easy, I donated RM210 to WWF through their Animal Adoptions programme. Then I just wait for the arrival of my ‘adopted’ animal.

This is what they sent in the whole package:

A bag, an Orang Utan plush toy, an Adoption Certificate, official receipt and an information leaflet

The leaflet, naturally, contains some facts about the Orang Utan.

Do you know that Orang Utans are highly intelligent animals who could use objects as tools, much like humans?

Orang utans are found only in Borneo and Sumatra. The species are also found in East Malaysia and is now under ‘vulnerable’, meaning it is heading towards being endangered and soon, extinct! This is due to deforestation and destruction of their natural habitat.

Here are the 'documentations' of the adoption

From top: the official tax-deductible receipt, the adoption certificate and the orang utan information leaflet.

As I’ve said earlier,

My son absolutely loves Orntan

What are you waiting for? Go adopt one and do your part to save endangered animals from going extinct.

Check out WWF’s site for more information or go here to go directly to the adoption page. It is tax-deductible so it is a good thing to ‘adopt’ an animal.

What do pandas, orang utans and tigers have in common? For one thing, they are heading towards extinction. And by...
DAP don’t like frogs and defections but PKR encouraged hopping, so now, how? So Pakatan Rakyat is a marriage of convenience between DAP,...
Two plates of Salmon for less than RM20 Yep. I am serious. Salmon may be an expensive fish...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Ooo..this is a p0rn video directory website

Foong — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 08:35:45 +0000

You know what is hilarious?

The funny, funny search terms that lead readers to this blog. But it is really a first for me to have the search term:

Show me Malaysian p0rn video directory website

leading to this site. LOL.

I don’t remember posting up any p0rn videos here so I wonder how the reader ended up in this site. He must have been greatly disappointed to find a boring sarky blog instead of videos showing naked women and men going at it.

Maybe he should try the former health minister’s site?

That’s the most famous piece of p0rn ever for this year. In Malaysia at least.

Probably a bestseller nowadays…heheheh…although I don’t see the fun in watching a 60 year old man doing it with some China doll his personal friend. Bad video quality and grainy too.

Where’s the fun in that I ask you?

You want to watch people doing it, might as well go for the full colour, EXTREMELY clear with wonderful sounds, right?

Alright, since some people expect at least some p0rn in this blog, I might as well oblige, eh?

Here’s a sexy p0rn video… err…viewer discretion needed…

What?

It’s still sex what….only it doesn’t involve any humans. Heheheheh…

Okay, okay, ignore this post today. I’m a bit ‘off’ today. No, waitaminute. I AM always a bit ‘off’!

Now, seriously, here’s another p0rn video…

Serious.

Really.

Those under-18, please go away this is not for your eyes.

And no, peeking from under your fingers does not count.

Shoo!

Now, adults, have your fill of a free p0rn video at this blog that’s pretending to be a p0rn video directory site

…

Wakakaka…I can’t believe you fell for that again. Or maybe you expected that. Oh well.

I actually have a lot of venting and ranting to do but decided against it.

Just too blardy fed up to waste anymore blogspace on idiots, you know?

Anyway, I’ve taken up a brand new hobby! And it is damn fun. Kinda expensive but hey, it has potential of earning me some pocket change. I will reveal it one of these days once I am very skilled in it.

And no, it does not involve any p0rn video directory sites.

Till then.

Lion as a pet, anyone? Not that I am encouraging people to keep lions as...
Watch this short video brought to you by our Ho Liao team! I am sure by now, most of you have read...
We need some laughter in our lives There is nothing more true and accurate than the adage...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Be careful when you next sing the National Anthem, it could be against the law

Foong — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 17:53:48 +0000

I was surfing around and thought I’d give Malaysiakini a glance and then came upon this:

The police moved into the crowd just as they were singing the national anthem and getting ready to leave.

Okay, I don’t get it. The crowd were just getting ready to leave and the police make their move? And that’s not the worst of it.

This was just a candlelight vigil.

A peaceful candlelight vigil. Okay, okay not the candlelight vigil per se since they dispersed and re-gathered at another location but still…it was originally a candlelight vigil.

What the hell is wrong with the police?

So, what did they do wrong? Sang the national anthem out of tune? I also don’t understand this part…

In the ensuing melee, police arrested PJ Utara member of parliament and DAP leader Tony Pua, Kampung Tunku state representative Lau Weng San and about 20 others. Also arrested was Malaysiakini videographer Shukri Mohamad.

- Malaysiakini

Let me get this straight. A news videographer was also arrested? Whatever for? It’s now illegal to take videos of gatherings and of police acting as if a peaceful gathering is a terrorist attack?

We have murders. We have rape cases. We have gang robberies. We have snatch thefts. And what is the police busy doing?

Arresting people taking part in a peaceful candlelight vigil.

Bravo. I feel SO safe with such policemen taking care of our security. I may not have to worry about groups of people holding candlelight vigil attacking me by singing the national anthem anymore.

I don’t have to worry about these extremely dangerous people who could very well be worse than murderers, rapists, robbers, thieves and terrorists.

After all, they are armed with candles *gasp* and they could sing the national anthem *double gasp*

That is REALLY dangerous. You never know what the combination of candles and singing the national anthem could do. Oh, I almost forgot. Of course, anyone holding a video cam could also be dangerous. The video cam could suddenly transform into a machine gun and start literally shooting everyone on the spot.

My goodness. We should really be thankful for such an efficient police force.

Oh, by the way. The next time you wanna sing the national anthem, make sure you don’t do it in the presence of police. They may decide that it is illegal and wrong, or worse, dangerous, and then arrest you.

Fortunately, (or is it unfortunately?) over in Ipoh, the police there aren’t so efficient:

A similar rally was also held in Ipoh tonight to commemorate the first anniversary of the Bersih rally in Kuala Lumpur last year.

That rally, attended by 350 people, proceeded without a hitch.

- Malaysiakini

The latest on the ISA dragnet Since we are all (especially bloggers) being frightened with all...
Luckily no casualties in the demonstration today When I heard that there will be a demonstration near...
The controversial forum and ISA It would seem that despite widespread publicity about the forum...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Much ado about yoga

Foong — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 08:06:38 +0000

Yoga made the headlines locally for all the wrong reasons but then I don’t blame these religious groups. People often tend to fear what they do not understand or simply what they perceive to be ‘against their religion’.

Now, I don’t care about who is going to ban yoga for which group, as long as I am not banned from my own right to exercise whichever way I want. They can blardy well ban sex in bed for their people for all I care.

However, I wish to list here some of the facts about yoga so that all this confusion about the so-called religious aspects of yoga (or the non-existence of it) can be made clear to whomever is interested.

There are 8 limbs to yoga and of these eight, what was most popular amongst movie stars, fitness studios and Gabrielle of Desperate Housewives is only the physical aspect of yoga, Asana (yoga postures).

Now, in my experience, all fitness studios mainly have Hatha Yoga (the physical part of yoga by practicising the asanas) classes and I have attended many of these classes. So many, I lost count.

I even have Hatha Yoga books and VCDs at home. And let me make it VERY CLEAR, none of it involve any religious incantations at all. Not even one.

All of it was sweaty, panting and bending and stretching and yes, breathing. In yoga, breathing is very important so that you will be able to use your breath and expand your lungs while exercising.

Here are some of the basic postures of yoga:

Basic yoga postures

These do not involve meditation of any sort. Instead, it is to help stretch out your limbs for flexibility and also for balance. The Triangle is especially good to reduce the inches on your waist (trust me, the stretching does lengthen your torso muscles and give you a slimmer waist!).

The Tree is a posture to help you in your balance while the half Lotus is to stretch the joints on your knees. Cobra is to stretch your lower back and open up your chest.

Do these even sound religious to you?

Well, it isn’t to me. Hatha Yoga and the practice of Asanas is just another form of exercise for me. In fact, I’d say it is almost similar to Pilates (yep, another stretching type of exercise) but I am sure nobody would say that Pilates is religious, would they?

So, not all yoga practise is based on meditation and chanting.

Well, I am glad that there are people of more SANE mind who thinks that yoga is just another form of exercise…it is also interesting to note that orthodox Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia and UAE are NOT banning yoga…

SINGAPORE, Nov 9 - A Muslim cleric in Malaysia has called on Muslims to stop doing yoga exercises, but some religious experts in Singapore do not share that sentiment.

They are largely of the opinion that yoga is harmless as long as its spiritual aspects are not practised.

Professor Zakaria Stapa, a lecturer at University Kebangsaan Malaysia”s faculty of Islamic studies, said recently that yoga is based on Hindu elements and could affect the faith of Muslims practising it.

That sparked a nationwide debate and the Malaysian National Fatwa Council may issue a fatwa, or decree, on yoga soon.

The country seems to be alone in its concern.

Yoga centres are flourishing in more orthodox Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

In Iran, yoga is so popular that there are classes for children.

In Singapore, Mr Mohammad Yusri Yubhi Md Yusoff, 33, executive imam of Al-Falah mosque, said: “Yoga may have its roots in Hinduism. But if you take away the meditation and other spiritual aspects, it becomes just another form of exercise.”

Veteran religious expert Pasuni Maulan, 64, agreed. The former registrar of Muslim marriages said spiritual elements in exercises are not exclusive to yoga. Silat, which has its roots in Malay culture, can sometimes involve hailing spirits, a practice not allowed in Islam.

“Those who are not sure about what is allowed may want to do other exercises,” he suggested.

As a rule of thumb, avoid the spiritual forms of exercises and embrace only the physical aspects, said religious teacher and counsellor Abdul Manaf Rahmat, 50.

Teacher Hafiza Yahya, 26, who studied yoga through books five years ago, has been doing just that.

“In classes, instructors may ask you to say Hindu incantations. I simply did the exercises without all that,” said the mother of two, who shed more than 30kg through yoga after each pregnancy. She now weighs a trim 46kg. - Straits Times Singapore

Ahh…this is what I call Malaysia Boleh.

Hmmm…all this yoga talk has reminded me. I’ve not practiced yoga for ages…hehehehe…

My relationship with God Note to all uptight religious I-want-to-convert-everyone-I-find-to-my-religion types, you are not...
I hate the phrase ’till death do us part’ It is like a threat to me. That death will...
Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, now only you want to talk about ISA? This goes to show what a suck-up the Gerakan acting...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.