Oh I see what you did there... perpetuating the myth that DAP and PAP are part of the same whatever it is you think they are a part of.

Seriously, the stuff you're smoking, I could really use some. Pretty please?

While it's good that you feel sorry for transgender persons, it appears you have no inkling about what being transgender is all about.

And "some men could take advantage of this judgement and will dress like a woman and use women's public toilets" is really venturing into the realm of the utterly ridiculous.

"A reformer behind closed doors is not a reformer at all."

Agreed. At best, I would call someone like that a performer.

Like the ones you'd find in a circus.

Hudud aside, let's talk about Sharia law, hypothetically it being applied as 'law of the land'. Ask yourself: which countries/territories in the world exclusively use Sharia as the law? Then ask yourself: would you aspire Malaysia to be like those countries/territories?

One question: IF the Hadiths are required to interpret the Quran, why is it that there are NO hadith-based explanations for approximately 28 surahs?

Don't take my word for this. Check Volume 6 of Sahih Bukhary for yourself (which deals with tafsir). Not only are these 28 surahs not "explained", some of the surahs are only partially explained (example: Surah 2, al-Baqarah - only about a fifth of the entire surah has hadith-based "explanations").

In fact there are many verses in the Quran that indicate that the holy book is "complete and detailed", and many others stating that the holy book is self-explanatory, utilizing REASON that God has given us. Surah al-Qamar (Surah 54) makes the declaration "And We have indeed made the Qur'an easy to understand and remember: then is there any that will receive admonition?" a total of FOUR TIMES (verses 17, 22, 32 and 40).

These are but some of the many reasons I personally find it very difficult to accept the notion that the hadith are "required" to understand the Quran.

In fact, the Quran issues this challenge: "Such are the Signs of Allah, which We rehearse to thee in Truth; then in what exposition will they believe after (rejecting) Allah and His Signs?" (al-Jathiyah, surah 45, verse 6, Yusuf Ali translation). In the original Arabic, "exposition" as translated by Yusuf Ali is 'hadith'.

Don't know about you, but I certainly could not ask for a clearer sign...

What happened was the unilateral action of one high-ranking Balai Seni Visual Negara (BSVN) official, without informing the artists or the curators involved. I have it on good authority that the curators are not happy and feel that the action was unethical on the part of said official.

It's a case of self-censorship on the part of an institution (more precisely, one individual within that institution) that has forgotten who the *real* Malaysian art stakeholders are.

In all fairness, Putrajaya (or the Ministry) can't really be blamed directly for this. What I will say, however, is that the chilling effect we're seeing is symptomatic of the climate of fear that our government has cultivated. Worse, it's done by an institution that supposedly is there to promote visual art and creativity, not suppress it.

But because BSVN ultimately reports to the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, in the present touchy socio-political climate, it is not willing to carry out its role objectively. Rightly or wrongly.

Speaking with a few of the curators involved, the idea of an independent Arts Council once again cropped up. Malaysia doesn't have one at present, and frankly, sorely needs it. Like, yesterday. Ideally, it should be publicly funded, but operates at arms length of the government, with little or no direct involvement of the government.

Perhaps that would be a positive step forward. IMHO.

And you know the number one reason why Malaysia will probably forever languish in the malaise of Could'veBeen Land? Because we've totally lost the ability to analyze beyond the surface of what's straightforward.

Some of the comments here are a testament to that. The article, after all, is not really about circumcision. Nor is it about how to attain athletic prowess.

Suprised?

Whenever there's an issue being championed by Muafakat, ISMA, PPMM, etc., which are all associated with the Pembela umbrella organization, a JAKIM-penned Friday sermon will not be far behind. Be it the so-called "Shiah virus", "threat" of human rights, LGBT "menace", or what have you.

So what's the connection? Why is an agency under the purview of the Prime Minister's Department working with NGOs to drive this nation towards becoming a religious apartheid?

Is that the real end-game, or is what we're seeing a coincidental perfect storm scenario?

Oh, now that you finally realize the REAL ramifications of the problem that YOU helped create, you think that simplistic statements like this can avert the REAL potential disaster that YOU have put this nation in?

YOU are the LAST people I would ever trust. E-V-E-R.

So riddle me this: why is UMNO, through its media proxies, continually running down DAP on levels that make Liew Chin Tong's so-called running down pale in comparison? How many times has UMNO mandated that the President and Vice-President posts be uncontested, versus the same kind of mandate within the DAP?

Perhaps in answering the two questions above, maybe you might get a clue that UMNO is not as 'democratic' as your imagination seems to tell you it is...