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MCG Newsletter - October 2008

Following Month's Newsletter

Greetings members

If I found last month’s newsletter message difficult to write, this one is even more so.

Only 1 person out of over 150 current MCG members made any sort of “formal” response to my concerns about Board vacancies. A number of people ask regularly if anyone has stepped up to take any of the vacant roles on. What a shame I can’t smile and say yes we have all positions covered!!

That one person emailed me on receiving her September newsletter while away on summer vacation, expressed her concerns for MCG and very kindly offered to fill the Librarian position on the Board which has been gapped since the Library moved to the custody of Museum Volunteers Malaysia – she is also an active member of MVM and this will provide a great link between the two groups. I thank her most sincerely.

The Board met for its September meeting on Wednesday 10th and obviously one of the main topics discussed was the vacant Board positions. You are all aware that we have needed a new Vice-President and Events Planning Convenor for many months. I have now formally tendered my resignation from the Board and EPT with effect 31 October (or sooner if possible).

At the September Board meeting we also became aware of two other Board members leaving Malaysia in the very near future. Petra Jud, our Website Manager, will be leaving Malaysia in early 2009 and she has indicated she will resign from this Board position at the end of this year. Kathryn Meidinger, our Membership Secretary also advised it has become obvious she is likely to leave earlier than originally expected so a new Membership Secretary is also required. As the annual membership renewal period is January, it would be great to get her replacement up and running before that busy time.

If you have the required skills to manage our website, please contact me urgently – this is a key part of our organisation and it is a job that requires certain skills – it is not a huge time undertaking and can be done from home in your own time. Likewise with the membership role – it does require someone with some administration and computer skills to maintain the membership databases – it also can be done at home in your own time – can be busy at annual renewal time but relatively quiet for most of the year. These two jobs are “behind the scenes” but CRITICAL!!

As you can see, the situation is serious and MCG can only continue to function if its members volunteer to take some responsibility for these roles, give a little of their time and make some commitment to ensure the continued success of the group.

I urge you all to think long and hard about the future of the MCG – all groups like this rely on volunteers and all volunteer groups go through these periods of change. If everyone wants to continue to enjoy the events and activities offered by the group, then the reality is someone has to do some of the work.

Our next Board meeting will be on Thursday 16 October at my home – if you are interested in volunteering for one of the Board positions please contact me urgently and come along to this next meeting.

I look forward to seeing you all at an event soon.

- Lin Streefkerk

REPORTS   FROM   PREVIOUS   EVENTS

"Pondok, Madrasah and Pesentren: Islamic Schools in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia"
August 12th, 2008

There were over 40 attendees for Prof. Stimpfl's second lecture entitled, "Pondok, Madrasah and Pesantren: Islamic Schools in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia". Despite the short delay in getting the talk underway, Prof. Stimpfl kept his audience focused with his explanations of the founding of the Pondok schools, and the role they played in inculcating knowledge of Islam into young Muslims.

 Prof. Stimpfl first elaborated on the difference between "education" and "schooling". In a sense, man has been "educated" for many centuries, as learning was passed from parent to child, master to apprentice. However, "schooling" is generally regarded as the formal attempt at transmission of a more abstract knowledge, which is not necessarily directly applicable in one's everyday life.  Literacy also played a great role in "schooling". As man moved from oral to written traditions, schools began to emerge which could teach students how to read sacred works like the Koran, especially those in foreign languages. This explains the emergence of Pondok and Pesantren in the region. In Malaysia, the word Pondok refers to the hut where the students receive their learning. Pesantren is the equivalent name for the schools in Indonesia.

 The first forms of education in the Southeast Asian region were centred around the reading of religious texts, with implications of moral and spiritual development on the student. Early religious schools sought to combine both ritual and religion in the students' lives; we learnt that very young children would be sent to a Pondok or Pesantren to live, learn and work under the guidance of a Tok Guru or teacher. These teachers themselves were the product of the Pondok, and had typically continued their education in the Islamic centres of Mecca (al-Haram), Medina (al-Nabawi) or Cairo (al-Azahar).

 The aims of these Pondok were to promote good intentions or niat among Muslims, and reinforce Islam as a "way of life". Prof. Stimpfl elaborated that "bad acts", if misguidedly performed with good intent, were still considered "good" and vice versa. The Pondok schools also served to generate a deeper understanding ('ilm) of Islam among their believers.
 According to Prof. Stimpfl, learning in Islamic schools could be divided into six areas of study: fiqh (jurisprudence), hadith (the oral tradition of Muhammad), tafsir (Quranic exegesis), tasawwuf (Sufistic studies related to purification), tajwid (Quranic reading or chanting) and study of nahw and sarf (the syntax and morphology of the Arabic language). Some of these areas of study are subject to interpretation of the individual Tok Guru. Examples of these can be seen in the commentary provided by imams during the Friday prayers.

 The role of the Tok Guru is influenced by the Middle Eastern education system, tempered by local opinion. Most of these Tok Guru are supported by local Islamic authorities, and are usually invited by locals to start their schools. As Prof. Stimpfl mentioned, they are largely educated in the three main religious centres of Islam (Mecca, Medina and Cairo) and are often supported by zakat (tithings) from locals. The position of Tok Guru is a complicated one, as he sometimes serves as both a scholar and a community leader.

 An extension of the Pondok is the Madrasah. These are private Islamic schools, which also serve to inculcate the values from the Pondoks. Its curriculum is a 50-50 split between spiritual and secular education. Unlike the Pondok, its students are equipped with the knowledge to continue to attend local or Islamic universities.

 As the 21st century progresses, the role of these Islamic schools is set to change. Prof. Stimpfl himself related the change in the dynamics of his students – he sees a bifurcation as more female students now wear the headscarf or tudung, while at the same time others display less conservative behaviour. Also, tensions remain among different localized groups of Muslims, but in the tradition of religious freedom, all voices are allowed to be heard.

 In the process of the talk, Prof.  Stimpfl also touched on related subjects such as the arrival of Islam in Southeast Asia, and the role that Sufism played in integrating Islam with local religious beliefs. He also elaborated on the different traditions within Sunni Islam, the denomination that is most widespread in Malaysia.

Christine Ong

EXPLORE WITH THE EXPLORERS

If you like to get out and about, and you are interested in what Kuala Lumpur has to offer…you might be interested in joining Malaysian Culture Group’s (MCG) Explorers program.

“Explorers” currently has 2 groups of participants.  Each group “explores” 8 or 9 times a year.  With each group, participants pair up and each team of 2 is responsible for coordinating one month’s program with optional lunch locations.  Recent programs have included visits to an Orang Asli village, a tour of a new hospital, a wander through Taman Hana and a kite making session.

Upcoming tours in the planning stages include a tour of Kolej Tuanku Jafa’ar, a visit to a Rubber Plantation and an eco-fibre themed morning.

MCG will be holding their Annual Newcomers’ Coffee Morning on Thursday 25 September.  Those interested in joining Explorers will be able to sign up at the Newcomers’ morning.  A follow up meeting of the two Explorers groups will take place in October for all interested participants.  At this meeting, we will establish dates and discuss possible destinations for the 2009 calendar year.

The commitment needed to make the Explorers program a success is minimal.  All the program requires is for participants to commit to the designated Monday each month, volunteer with a partner to plan one month’s program and submit a write-up (photos always welcome!) for this newsletter.

Thanks and hope to welcome you to the fun of MCG Explorers in KL.

Dawn Babcock
Explorers Convenor

BOOK CLUB

A Message From the Book Group Convenor

MCG’s two Book Groups are stimulating venues for discussion of Asian Literature, both fiction and non-fiction. Each of the two groups meets one morning a month (either Wednesday or Friday) to discuss a book selected by the group prior to the new season.

Each group is able to accept up to 15 members, so currently there are a few places available in each of the Book Groups.

If you are a keen reader and like to discuss what you read, we would love to have you join us.

The books to be read this season are as follows:

Book Group 1              ---meets the last Friday of the month---

Title                                                 Author

Eat, Pray, Love                                Elizabeth Gilbert

The Coroner’s Lunch                    Colin Cotterill

All the Shah’s Men                         Stephen Kinzer

The Gift of Rain                               Tan Twan Eng

The Good Women of China            Xinran Xue

The Reluctant Fundamentalist                    Mohsin Hamid

Q & A                                              Vikas Swarup

From the land of Green Ghosts       Pascal Khoo Thwe

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan     Lisa See

Book Group 2   ---meets the last Wednesday of the month---

Noor                                     Jean Overton Fuller

Three Cups of Tea               Greg Mortenson

Three Came Home               Agnes Newton-Keith

The Old House                                                                          
Love and Lust in H K           Chuah Guat Eng

The Tale of Genji                  Marasaki Shikibu

The Three Daughters of
Madame Liang                      Pearl Buck

The Space Between Us         Thirty Umirgar

The Impressionist                  Hari Kunzru

If interested, please contact Joanne Mahendran, Book Group Convenor, at 
bookgroup@malaysianculturegroup.com and/or joanne.mahendran@gmail.com

NEWSLETTER REPORT

Newsletter

This is the October issue of the newsletter. The next issue will be in November.  The deadline for sending in your articles/photos is October 8. Please email your write ups to
newsletter@malaysianculturegroup.com or jaishreemcg@gmail.com

The write-ups should not be more than 350 words.  They should be in Times New Roman font size 11.
We would love to have photographs along with your write ups.

Jaishree Balasubramanian    

BOOKING POLICY FOR EVENTS

Reservations
When making email reservations for events, please send your full name (as it appears on your membership registration) to mcgevents@yahoo.com. Send a separate email for each event and place the event title on the subject line. Telephone reservations can be made Monday to Friday, however you will need to consult your paper newsletter to obtain the number of the committee member taking bookings for that particular event.

Wait List
Events Planning follows a policy of booking places for events on a first come first served basis. If an event becomes full then a wait list is created and participants will be informed as soon as possible if a place becomes available.

Payments
For most events monies are collected on the morning of the event itself, unless otherwise stated.
It is thus important that you come with correct change on hand. For clarifications please call or email a member of the Events Planning team.
MCG is not responsible for reservations and/or payments sent to any person other than the Events Planning member identified as the contact person for the event.

Cancellations
If for some reason you cannot attend a programme when you have reserved a place please let the Events Planning Team know as soon as you can. Cancellations received within less than 48 hours are only eligible for a refund if the vacancy can be filled from the wait list or if the person can find another member to take their place.

Refunds
Refunds can only be given if EP has 48 hours notice of a cancellation. Please note that some events have a cancellation time of longer than 48 hours, which will be indicated in the description of the event.

Eligibility
Please note that all events, apart from the monthly lecture are for members only, unless otherwise stated.

Event Participation
Members are kindly requested to arrive promptly for events. Please turn off your cellular phones and refrain from talking during lectures and presentations.

Eligibility
Please note that all events, apart from the lecture, are for members only, unless otherwise stated.