Happy Independence Day Malaysia!

31st August 2009.

The date which Malaysia turns 52. What exactly happen on this day? Public holiday? Of course! Hehehe.... Well, 31st August is a historical and memorable date for Malaysia. It is a national holiday which is celebrated every year. It is to commemorate the independence of the Federation of Malaya from British colonial rule on 31 August 1957. In a wider context, it also celebrates the formation of Malaysia.


Although Sabah and Sarawak gained their independence on 31 August 1963, Hari Kemerdekaan is a significant date throughout Malaysia. On this day, Malaysians from all backgrounds, race and religion celebrate together in a harmonious way.

Fasting: Stronger or Sleepier?

“You neither eat nor drink the whole day?” Tan asked me.

“Yes. The whole day. But not at night. Only from dawn to sunset”, I replied.

“How can you survive? Can you survive?”, Tan asked again.

I smiled.

“Well, it’s not just you. Even Habib Bourguiba, the late President of Tunisia who was also a ‘Muslim’, convinced that fasting is against productivity. You know the history?”, I took my turn asking Tan my question.

“How should I know? Tell me!”, he said.

In 1961, Habib Bourguiba made a controversial statement claiming that fasting should not be observed for it reduces productivity. He then appeared on television with his cabinet, eating and drinking during Ramadhan.

“Why so harsh?”, Tan was shocked.

“I don’t know. Was it out of ignorance or arrogance? Perhaps a combination of both”, I replied.

Even though fasting is there in the name of Lent among Christians, it is always the Muslim’s version that cultivates questions and debates.

In order to understand about the real meaning of fasting, one should agree that it has something to do with our own paradigm and world view. The way we view things; like I always quote, “what you see is what you get”.

VIEWING FASTING IN MANY WAYS

If you see fasting as a way for better diet, you will benefit that from fasting. But fasting will only be a mechanism of improving your diet.

If you see fasting as a way to save your daily expense by breaking your fast daily in the mosque, then you will be able to achieve that. But that’s it. No more than that.

Ahlan Wasahlan Ya Ramadan Al-Mubarak

[O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint.) (Al-Baqarah 2:183)

[O ye who believe! fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam.] (Aal `Imran 3:102)

“Every deed of the child of Adam is for him except fasting; it is for Me and I shall reward it. The (bad) breath of the mouth of a fasting person is more pleasing to Allah than the perfume of musk.” (Al-Bukhari)

Welcome to a celebration of the Muslim holiday of Ramadan. Observed by more than one billion Muslims around the world, Ramadan is a time for spiritual purification achieved through fasting, self-sacrifice and prayers.

Celebrated during the ninth month of Islamic calendar, the fast is observed each day from sunrise to sunset. Fasting during Ramadan is one of the five Pillars of Islam. The Islamic belief that requires that Muslims perform five central duties in order to strengthen their faith. While Islam has two major sects, the Sunnis and the Shiites, all Muslims aim to realize these five pillars in their lifetime.

Ramadan concludes with a 3-day festival known as "Eid" or "Eid ul-Fitr," which literally means "the feast of the breaking/to break the fast." The holiday marks the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting and is a culmination of the month-long struggle towards a higher spiritual state.

The purpose of fasting is not to make us hungry and thirsty, or to deprive us some of our comfort and conveniences. The real purpose of fasting is that we learn taqwa. Taqwa is highly emphasized in the Qur’an and Sunnah. There are more than 158 verses in the Qur’an on taqwa, and there are hundreds of hadiths on this subject.