Readers respond to Polygamy issue arouses passions in Malaysia
Men, please grow up
IT IS difficult to understand Malaysian men. Haven't they realised that the more women they have, the more problems they will face? Doesn't anyone want to do a study on why the same doesn't happen to a woman, the urge to marry more than one man at the same time? It's because having too many men will add to our wrinkles and rob us of our health and freedom, and we women are smart enough to realise that!
Muslim men can use their religion to legalise polygamy and the non Muslim men stash their mistresses in obscure condos. A woman who's happy with this arrangement must be someone with very low self esteem. Even a kid wouldn't like to share his/her toy with the sibling, let alone a woman sharing her husband with another. If the roles are to be reversed, would the men be so open to sharing their women with other men? No wonder there are so many single women out there who choose to be single. The men just can't make up their mind whom they would like to spend the rest of their lives with.
It's high time that women do not subject themselves to being mere objects and playthings of men and rise up to their full potential. Mothers, stop pestering your daughters to get married, as if they are worthless/useless if they do not catch a husband. Ladies, please stop measuring yourself by how happy you make your husband/family without feeling fulfilled yourselves. Men, please grow up and respect the ladies as intelligent and emotional human beings. How we act and react, would determine the world our sons and daughters are going to live in. - WAI LENG
No happy ending
Mohamad Adam Zakri, although only a pseudonym, must be congratulated for coming forward to share his story.
According to him, he became the envy of his friends when he married a woman who caught his eye at their workplace but he now says his decision cost all of them their happiness.
"She was very good at capturing my heart, she bought me breakfast every day even though she knew I was already married," says Mohamad Adam.
"I finally had to confess to my first wife. One day I sat them down, one on the left and one on the right, as both of them asked to meet the other. But once they met, they didn't even speak to each other. They just cried."
Mohamad's story is one of the most common of how office affairs started and developed. And such stories do not have happy endings.
But it is not only causing Malay families so much sorrow and pain, but also Chinese, Indian families and others as well.
I strongly believe what Malaysians really need is to take more lessons in morality. We should actually be ashamed of the many high-profile divorce cases in our midst these days. - Faithful Male
Readers respond to Anything but politics: SKY thinks Ning Baizura is sexy
Accolades for SKY
I appreciate your interview with Sim Kwang Yang. I am from Kuching and have been one of SKY's supporters when he was in active politics. I am proud that he was elected MP for Bandar Kuching on three consecutive terms.
SKY is one the rare breed of politicians who gave his all to serve the people. I knew him as a top student in St. Joseph's School, Kuching, where he excelled in his studies and sports too. He is also well educated with two or three degrees and a man like him could easily get a good paying job. He could enjoy a lifetime of monetary security. Even when he was in the DAP, SKY was courted by the BN, notably by some Supp leaders, and was said to have been offered a ministerial position.
But SKY stuck to his principles and pursued his political ideals like a gallant gentleman. He was once compared to former DAP stalwart and Bandar Kuala Lumpur MP Lee Lam Thye, known for putting up a good and clean fight in every election. Voters voted for him and not DAP. He was an epitome of strength and courage. Many former MPs trailed far behind.
Knowing SKY, his heart will always be sincere and true, his mind and conscience will always be clear. It's a pity that he has now retired. He would have made a good leader for the country.
SKY will always stand tall and reach for the sky but his two feet will be firmly planted on the ground. He is a very practical and down-to-earth man.
No wonder he can still have that great sense of humour and wit. - An Appreciative Malaysian
Readers respond to In your work place, don't poke fun at them
Keep your prejudices to yourself
This letter does not aim to debate whether homosexuality is right or wrong but to say that the views of some readers lack insight especially the insulting attempt to draw parallels between paedophiles and homosexuals.
For the record, even if a child consents to sexual relations with an adult, it cannot be determined whether the child consented because the adult was in a position of superiority and whether the child was enticed with rewards for consenting to the act. Minors may not always be mature enough to understand what voluntary consent and sex really mean.
Homosexuals do not go about preying on people they find sexually attractive. They seek relationships with other consenting adults just like heterosexuals. That said, homosexual rape is a crime just like heterosexual rape and there exist both homosexual and heterosexual paedophiles.
And before any reader brings up the issue, please avoid citing how homosexuals upset social and economic development by not producing offspring. There are far more heterosexual men and women who do not or choose not to have children and it has nothing to do with their sexual orientation.
There will always be homosexuals who choose to hide behind a veil of heterosexuality due to personal circumstances and moral or religous beliefs. This is their personal choice. However, for those who choose the equally difficult path of coming out, it does not help if those around them demonstrate hatred and bigotry towards the issue. As long as they do not flaunt their homosexuality, you should also keep your prejudices to yourself and treat them the same way you would treat any other person.
I pray that people who can only condemn homosexuality or subscribe to stereotypes will not one day have a family member or close friend who has seemed 'normal' all along come out to them, as the process will be so much more traumatic for both parties than if they had kept a more balanced view of the issue. - DPBM
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