98 million oragomi birds

[jasmine]

[color:"red"]wtf, she is thai and can`t read thai. [/color]

 

Sadly many Thais in Isaan, Northern and Southern parts of Thailand can NOT read Thai. A good friend of mine is staying with a 29 yr. old Isaan ex-BG who cannot read nor write. :: She went to school, beleive it or not but she forgets

 

Jasmine

[Guest]

>>>I just returned from Penang, and it is such a delight to see how everyone gets along there -- Chinese, Indian, Malay, Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist.<<<

 

 

they don't get along that well. there still are regular race riots, the last one in penang was only a few years ago. i think it was between malaisian indian hindus and muslims, not that sure anymore.

the main reason that anwar had to disappear from the political scene was that he was playing the racial card a bit - very dangerous in malaisia.

 

 

 

>>>The Narathiwat-Pattani problem is more ethnic than religious, and the seperatists play on things by trying to make it appear religious. <<<

 

 

and incidents like tak bai play only into the hand of the radicals. very sad.

[thai3]

Flashermac said:

The Islamic schools instead teach seperatism and sometimes radicalism. Which is the reason the radicals are constantly torching the Thai public schools in the south ... to force the students to attend Yahwee (Melayu) language Islamic schools.

 

A spot on observation here I feel. My understanding of the Koran is that it does teach the faithful NOT to integrate with the infidel lest they become defiled.

In the UK we seem to hear less and less of the word integration, now we have celebrating diversity and multi culturalism parroted at us. Muslim schools will soon be state funded (in asylum city already) and a new law is about to on the books outlawing criticsm of religion. So I expect to be burned at the stake. How separate development is meant to bring about better relations is never explained.It seems to me most muslims want to take but never to contribute or become part of the wider community in which they are living-peter

[Nervous_Dog]

So Fly, we can;t go to Panang any more, add that to the list?

 

Man - Malaysia is a lot safer, calmer now than ever before. Abdullah is doing a great job, there are pars there that i feel more unsafe than Bangkok, but the trade off is the nightlife and artists lives of younger people is a lot more interesting than Bangkok,

 

The staff of most companies are mixed races, all of them eating together getting on VERY well.

 

I remember the race riots from the 60's being a kid then in Sillypore, and my father working in KL.

 

but hey, I only go there once or twice a month so I wouldn't know of course

 

However since then the place has changed a LOT Penang is still a dump, but I can't remember any race riots reently, oh! Yes I can, in a small article in the Bangkok Post a month ago in Isaan somewhere 20 000 people demonstrated against the Muslims in the south.

 

DOG

[Flashermac]

I know a Pakistani who claims that a big problem in his own country is those religious schools. There is not enough money spent on public education in Pakistan, he says. As a result many families have to send their children to religious schools -- where the teachers may not be very well educated and teach ideas which are not really in the Qu'ran. (Many of the ridiculous dress codes, for example, are tribal and ancient. All the Qu'ran demands is that women dress "modestly".) He argues that the US would do better by donating money to build public schools for all children in Pakistan -- and breaking the hold of the religious schools on the poor.

[Flashermac]

<< the main reason that anwar had to disappear from the political scene was that he was playing the racial card a bit - very dangerous in malaisia. >>

 

 

I'm well aware that Anwar was doing that -- and it is surprising you so seldom heard that during the attempts to get him out of prison. Also, note that Penang is almost 60% Chinese .. hardly typical of Malyasia as a whole.

 

The first time I was in Malaysia was in 1974. I came back again in 1985 and noticed big differences. First thing I spotted was that waitresses were gone from the pubs! Chinese merchants would privately admit to me that they no longer felt it was their country anymore. Since then, things have got much better.

 

Still, my Chinese Malaysian friends tell me they notice a difference between themselves and Thais. In Australia, another student might introduce himself to them as Thai. They would comment that he looked Chinese, and the Thai student would say, "Oh, yes ... my grandparents were from China." But a Malaysian would automatically introduce himself as Chinese Malaysian, Indian Malaysian or whatever. Thailand has been very successful at assimilating immigrants, helped of course by the lack of religious differences between them.

[Flashermac]

When I came to Thailand as a Peace Corps volunteer, the law required Thai students only to go through Prathom 4. Then it was raised to Prathom 6. Nowadays the minimum is Mathayom 3 -- 9th grade. Still, in rural areas I'm sure this law is ignored often enough.

 

I have seen a Farang hand a note he had someone write in Thai to an Issan bar girl ... and the girl look embarrassed because she had to have a friend read it to her!

[Flashermac]

<< My understanding of the Koran is that it does teach the faithful NOT to integrate with the infidel lest they become defiled. >>

 

 

For a religious book which is supposedly perfect and was spoken by the only man in history Muslims believe was "without sin" (despite his personal conduct), there are surprising contraditions. In numerous suras (chapters sort of) Muhammad said that Christians would be the ones most friendly toward Muslims. But in other suras, he warned his followers NOT to associate with Christians. Take your pick.

[Nervous_Dog]

Flash, agree with the sentiment about schools, bomb Iraq, Afgan, he south with education is my own philosophy (and work)

 

However malaysia is nothing line what you last saw nearly 20 years ago.

 

Chinese are now well assimilated, in government as minister's as are all the groups, nothing like what it was.

 

Sorry your's and Flys experience's are obviously very dated.

 

By the way Fly, where are these race riots they still frequently have?

 

DOG

[Guest]

jasmine said:

Sadly many Thais in Isaan, Northern and Southern parts of Thailand can NOT read Thai. A good friend of mine is staying with a 29 yr. old Isaan ex-BG who cannot read nor write. :: She went to school, beleive it or not but she forgets

Sad but true. I was at the Pump Station recently having a conversation with one of the girls and she taught me the word for tall (suung). I couldn't hear the difference between that and the word for zero (suun) so I asked her to spell it for me. She called another girl, and another, and pretty soon the entire bar was collectively working on this complex task.

 

I still have the piece of paper with five or six versions scratched out.

 

And I don't think I'll ever forget how to spell suung.