Why Muslims cannot touch dogs?

Yesterday, I saw a group of Malay kids harassing some stray dogs just outside my house. The place I live in is a predominantly Chinese neighourhood, so it is quite rare to see Malay kids around. And everytime they are around, I can assure you there will always be a commotion outside my house because they will always disturb the innocent stray dogs who are lying by the roadside.

But I am not saying that Chinese and Indian kids do not disturb the dogs. They do as well. There are many mischievous Chinese and Indian kids who will also harass the stray dogs in my neighbourhood.

I am aware that Malay-Muslims in Malaysia are taught not to touch dogs, so, my curiousity began to arouse me as to why they cannot touch dogs.

As I read through the Internet, then I realise that it is NOT 'haram' for Muslims to touch dogs or to keep dogs as pets. It is just that it may be troublesome for Muslims to have to clean themselves according to a certain set of procedures after touching dogs' saliva. You may read the explanations here.

Also, I have found a post written by a local animal activist, Joanne Lee, with a snippet included which explained why Malaysian Muslims are prohibited from touching dogs.

==========SNIP SNIP==================

Dr. Gorman said...
American here, and yes, an animal lover. I have donated to Furry Farms for this cause. Yes, they need to educate the officials on the fishing island about spay and neutering the strays, or having them humanely euthanized. It's better than starving to death.

Question please: Why are Muslims encouraged not to touch dogs? God made them one of our two domesticated animals (along with cats) specifically for the purpose of helping humanity and providing companionship.

May 10, 2009 2:24:00 PM MYT

Zalina said...

Dr. Gorman,

When the rule was written, rabies was wide-spread. However, in the book is also written that dogs have been companions to the Prophet and his followers. Muslims overseas have no problems with dogs. I am a local muslim, and I have no problem with dogs.However, there is a cleansing ritual involved after being licked by the dog. I think people are just too lazy to go wash with red clay earth. Also, I'm a little more forward thinking and believe soap will do. Don't blame the religion -- blame the (few) followers. Thanks for your donation. On behalf of of the Pulau Ketam Dog Rescue Secretariat. Thanks from us all.

May 11, 2009 6:30:00 PM MYT

Antares said...

Zalina, thanks for responding to Dr Gorman. I'd just like to add my two cents worth. I believe the hadith against touching dogs was inserted long after Muhammad's time during a severe outbreak of rabies in Arabia. Since infection is mainly via saliva, and water isn't easily available in Arabia, people were advised to wash their hands in mud if licked by a dog. Soon dog saliva became regarded as "dirty" and long after rabies ceased being a problem, dogs remained anathema. Only in Malaysia do you find such rabid dog-haters/fearers. Muslims everywhere else have long become sensible about most taboos.

May 11, 2009 7:03:00 PM MYT

Dr. Gorman said...

Thank you, Zalina and Antares, for the excellent answers. It helps to try to understand the actions of those you can't understand! Still praying for the volunteers, the relief effort and the change of heart of the villagers and officials who did this.

Kim Gorman, O.D.

You may read the entire post written by Joanne Lee right here.

Who founded Christianity?

At first thought, many would think it's Jesus. But no!

Similar to Buddhism, it is his followers/disciples who founded Christianity. Fundamentally, Christianity is based on the teachings and life of Jesus Christ.

It is said that Jesus was a Jew and he was even sentenced to death for blasphemy by the Jews themselves. (A Jew is someone who practises Judaism).

I don't subscribe to the religion but I like the teachings of Jesus. He is one Prophet that everyone should look up to. Love, forgiveness, and brotherhood are the main theme of Christianity. That's what I like about his teachings.

He who have not sinned shall cast the first stone

Since I don't read the Bible, I'm not sure if this is told in the Bible. But I have watched a scene from a movie about Jesus and I heard him uttered this phrase. I'm no longer a practising Catholic but I still admire the teachings of Jesus Christ.

The story goes like this.

A woman was running for her life away from an angry mob. The mob were not just chasing her, they were also pelting her with stones as they chased after her all because she has committed adultery.

Soon, the mob cornered her and violently pelted her with stones. Thankfully, Jesus happened to be around and he saw and heard the commotion. Quick enough, he walked in and stood in between the mob and the woman. He then uttered this famous phrase,
"He who have not sinned shall cast the first stone"

Immediately, everyone stopped what they were doing. Embarassed by their actions, the mob dispersed and walked away.

Jesus then said to the woman, "go forth and commit this sin no longer".

Perhaps, Jesus should come and spread this message to our Malaysian politicians and religious officials. They are not angels and yet they want to be our moral police.

Although I am an atheist, I admire how Christians preach one to forgive and love their enemies, INSTEAD of killing their enemies.

Christmas or Xmas?

You can read the history how the word Xmas came about right here in Wikipedia. It is said that X comes from the Greek letter, Chi, which is translated as Christ.

It's almost Christmas and Catholics (I'm not sure about Protestants) are probably at their churches by now attending the Midnight Mass. I think it's almost 20 years that I have not attended the Midnight Mass.

Christmas is so commercialised that even non-Christians are celebrating it. Yes, even the Ah Bengs are celebrating Christmas without fail every year. While the Catholics are celebrating Christmas at churches, the Ah Bengs and Ah Lians (in Penang) are celebrating Christmas at Gurney Drive.

Yes, that was how the Ah Bengs celebrated Christmas last year in Gurney Drive, Penang, by banging and spraying cars with aerosol foam. You can read the last year's fiasco right here. I wonder if the same thing would happen again tonight.

Christmas is a holiday where Catholics/Christians observe to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. Some say the true meaning of Christmas is about love since love is a staple teachings of Jesus. Certainly, Christmas is a day of joy when Catholics/Christians' families will get together and bond with each other.

And to me, Christmas is incomplete without Christmas songs! One of my favourite Christmas song of all time is Last Christmas, originally written and performed by Wham! (comprising George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley). The song was released in 1984 and it peaked at #2 in the UK Singles chart at that time. This song has been covered by more than a dozen artistes ranging from Crazy Frog to Ashley Tisdale to Taylor Swift. This shows how good the song is.

Go listen. And Merry Christmas!

Meritocracy vs social justice

The Government will strike a balance between meritocracy and social justice when rewarding students for outstanding academic achievements, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said. This was reported in TheStar two days ago.

Well said, Mr PM. I always find it painful to see rich students getting scholarships.

My nearby neighbour was awarded a JPA scholarship a couple of years ago and she was sent to the US. Guess what happened next? Her parents bought a new house and moved to another residential area. Their house, which is just a few units away from mine was left vacant for a few years. They are probably so cash rich that they don't see the need to sell off the house or even to rent it out.

A former student of mine related to me how unfair that her schoolmate whose parents are both doctors was awarded a JPA scholarship. Indeed, how unfair. Where is the social justice?

Rich students whose parents could afford to fund their education do not deserve to receive a scholarship. However, we will often hear cries from them saying that scholarships should be given out based on meritocracy. They argue that they deserve the scholarships since they have worked hard for it.

Why a rich student would want to compete with other less fortunate students who score fairly good results to obtain a scholarship? There are many other students with outstanding academic achievements who do not have the opportunity and means to further their tertiary studies. All they want is some financial aid to fund their studies. Unfortunately, we have selfish rich students who want a slice of the scholarship pie as well depriving others who seriously need financial aid.

When I was teaching in this College X, I came to know students who enrolled in courses like the A-Levels programme, HSC programme, and the American Degree Transfer programme are already financially prepared to further their studies abroad. Yet, they still apply for the JPA scholarship hoping to strike a lottery. Well, once they got the scholarship, it could save them tons of money and probably they could spend their well-saved money on a trip to Japan or maybe they will buy another property, perhaps.

Yes, meritocracy is important when awarding scholarships but financial needs should also be seriously considered. At the same time, social justice should also not be restricted to one race only. Social justice should be served to all Malaysians. There are poor Chinese and poor Indians as well.

Do you want to be an academician?

A couple of years ago, I asked myself, "Do I want to work my way up?" or "Do I want to study my way up?". I chose the latter path so that I could avoid the typical corporate bullying and corporate politics.

If you choose to study your way up, this means you have to equip yourself with a postgraduate qualification, preferably a PhD (Doctor of Philosophy).

But of course, with so many profit-driven private colleges around, you don't need to have a PhD to be a lecturer. With just a master degree or just an undergraduate degree, you can already apply to be one and probably an underpaid lecturer. I can testify to that. So, with a PhD, you can only demand a better pay.

Being a compulsive learner with a passion for academic, becoming an academician is the right career choice for me, I believe.

Unfortunately in Malaysia, most of the academic institutions especially the private ones are profit-driven with no strong emphasis on research at all. Instead, all they care are student intakes, student intakes, and student intakes (I can testify to that as well). On the other hand, the public institutions of higher learning are government institutions and that means, I as a non-bumiputera will have great difficulties to be employed by them, even if I were to have a PhD one day (I have acquaintances with PhD who can testify to this). Well, what to do? That is why we have brain drains in Malaysia.

So, how well academicians are paid in Malaysia? Let us take a look at USM. I got this information from their ad.

Professor = RM10,885.75 to RM12,422.50 per month
Associate Professor = RM5,910.42 to RM7,610.50 per month
Senior Lecturer = RM5,276.92 to RM6,899.50 per month
Lecturer = RM3,073.50 to RM5,969.42 per month

Hmmm...not bad, eh.

Once you are armed with a PhD and depending on your experience, you either start your way up from the Lecturer position or the Senior Lecturer position. As an academician, your KPI will be heavily based on your research publications on peer-reviewed journals. It is the usual practice that academicians are hired on a three-year contract basis and you are required to publish your research articles consistently or else you will be shown the door.

One professor once mentioned that the reason why he chose to be an academician is because it is the closest to being self-employed. That can be quite true.

So, do you want to be an academician?

What are antibiotics?

This year is the very first year I took antibiotics. I have never taken any antibiotics before in my life. So, I didn't know much about antibiotics until this year.

Now I recalled seeing a particular colleague of mine (when I was working in one factory) who took antibiotics several times for minor reasons. Everytime, she had a runny nose (I assumed she had the common cold), she would see a doctor. When she came back to the office, I would see her taking some pills which look to me like antibiotics.

Similarly, everytime I see the doctor for the common cold (since I want to get the MC...hehe), the doctor would prescribed some antibiotics to me. Luckily I did not eat those antibiotics as I realised recently that antibiotics only work against bacterial infection NOT virus infection. The common cold is caused by the rhinovirus infection.

Because of the widespread use and misuse of antibiotics in modern society, bacteria are constantly exposed to these antibiotics. As a result, many bacteria have already developed resistance to the drugs' effects, just like the Superbug NDM-1. Just like I had blogged in my earlier post, I'm afraid we are going back prior to the 20th century before the invention of penicillin/antibiotics due to the increasing bacterial resistance to antibiotics. We are just going back to square one.

Antibiotics must be taken strictly as prescribed to avoid bacterial resistance and a dose must not be missed. For example, those on TB treatment have to take up to 8 tablets of antibiotics per day for 6 months. A dose must never never never be missed or else the mycobacterium tuberculosis will grow stronger and start to develop resistance against those antibiotics. As a result, the TB could turned into MDR-TB (Multi Drug Resistance TB) or XDR-TB (Extensive drug resistance TB), which are harder to cure. These MDR-TB and XDR-TB are man-made diseases, speaking metaphorically.

The common side effects of antibiotics include upset stomach, diarrhea, and, in women, vaginal yeast infections. Some side effects are more severe and, depending on the antibiotic, may disrupt the function of the kidney, liver, bone marrow, or other organs.

There was a news of a lady who took excessive painkillers that led to her liver failure in TheStar. It is important that you do not simply prescribe yourself any medications whether it is antibiotics or painkillers. Also, remember NOT to take antibiotics for a virus infection.

If you miss a dose, take it as soon as possible and continue with your regular schedule. If it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and continue with your regular dosing schedule. Do not take a double dose to make up for a missed one.

Straits Quay and Blue Reef Fish & Chips

It has been a long time since I have pampered myself really good. I spent the last six months poring over textbooks and visiting hospitals. I was craving for some nice fishy meals, so I headed to the newly opened Straits Quay and I had a wonderful lunch at Blue Reef Fish & Chips. Hmmm...now I wish I am a food blogger so I get to sample their food for free.

I also found that Straits Quay is way much better than 1st Avenue. Straits Quay certainly looks much more classy.

Really small christmas tree

Really big christmas tree


Christmas is coming. Yay!

Nice scenery in the night time.

It is time to eat. I'm hungry!

There is wide variety of food especially fishy food. But of course, they do have some other non- fishy food like lamb chop and such.

The service was friendly and efficient. Kudos, Blue Reef.

Fish and Chips - Mahi Mahi (RM16) + Iced Lemon Tea (RM4)

Grilled Fish - Siakap (RM21) + my lovely warm water (No charge)

........

It has been a longggg time I have tasted some good food. Anyway, Blue Reef, I'm doing some free viral marketing for you. So, Blue Reef, do you want me to sample your food for free next time? But, ok I know my photography skill is amateurish.

Buddhism is not a religion!

I have always knew that.

Buddha has never preached any religion at all in the first place. It is his followers who created the religion - Buddhism. Buddhism is supposed to be a philosophy.

There is an article in TheStar featuring Gary Gach, the author for The Complete Idiot's Guide to Buddhism. He clearly stated "Buddhism is not a religion". He is right!

From what I understand about Buddhism, Buddha preached that one should live a simple lifestyle. The more desires/temptations you have, the more you will suffer. So, live a simple lifestyle to end those suffering! Yet, I have seen a Buddhist monk driving a Mercedez. That is so extravagant!

What are the teachings of Buddha? It basically centres around the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path.

The four noble truths are as follows:
1. Ordinary life is suffering
2. Suffering is caused by desire to satisfy oneself
3. We end suffering by ending those desires
4. follow the 8 fold middle path

So, let's practise Buddhism by following the Noble Eightfold Path: right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.

Buddha asked his followers not to idolise him. So, to practise Buddhism, you don't need to shave your head, wear a robe, be like him, and to pray to him. That's what Buddha did not want you to do - to idolise him. So, don't idolise Buddha. Buddhism is actually a philosophy.

All you need to do is just to live a simple lifestyle and be compassionate! And most importantly, do good for the sake of goodness!

Respiratory Disorder - Episode 19

I decided to go to a government clinic this morning because I would like to do the phlegm test. It only cost me RM1 to see the doctor.

I reached the clinic at 9.45pm and as usual there was a humongous crowd in the small waiting area. It's so crowded and there are people coughing here and there. What a ripe place for TB/influenza virus/pneumonia/bronchitis to spread.

So, I decided to wait outside instead of sitting inside the waiting area. I'd rather stand in the hot sun that to risk myself contracting TB. Anyway, do you know that sunlight could kill TB. But of course, I seeked shelter under some trees. Occassionally, I would walked to the door to check the number whether it has reached my turn or not.

Finally (after painfully waiting for one hour and 15 minutes), my number appeared on that electronic device attached to the wall (what is it called, anyway?). I wore a mask and walked in to the doctor's room. As usual, I told the doctor everything. I then asked the doctor that I would like to do the phlegm test. I also asked for some Vitamin C and glycerin. All for only RM1. Hmmm...maybe I should ask for more.

After seeing the doctor, I hurried to the lab, collected the bottle from them, and ran out from the clinic. And then I took a deeeeep breath. Wow...fresh air. Haha. I was holding my breath the moment I walked out from the doctor's room. The face mask is not completely foolproof against any airborne germs, anyway.

After breathing in some fresh air from outside, I entered the pharmacy section to collect my medications and quickly ran out from the clinic again. Clinics and hospitals are such a risky place to go.

The air in the waiting area is seriously contaminated. I wonder when people will ever learn to cover their mouth when they cough/sneeze.

Respiratory Disorder - Episode 18

My next appointment with the doctor was supposed to be next month but I decided to see the doctor today because my phlegm has turned yellow every morning and there is blood in it, for the past two weeks. If your phlegm turns yellow, it means there is some bacterial infection.

Right after I woke up, I spat my phlegm into a small bottle, which was given by the hospital to me a couple of months ago but I still have not used it until today. The bottle will be given to the hospital for them to check for whatever germs that are in the phlegm.

I reached the hospital at about 9am and the carpark was almost filled up already by then. As I walked into the foyer, I was greeted by some beautiful Christmas decorations. I have always seen such Christmas decorations at hotel lobbies but I didn't expect to see it in a hospital. These decorations certainly cheered my mood up.

I brought the bottle to the hospital lab and then I proceeded to see my doctor and I told her about my symptoms. I was then asked to do a chest x-ray again to see whether abnormalities on my lungs have worsened or it gets better.

In the x-ray room, a fine young gentleman (he is either a radiologist or a medical officer, I am not sure) helped me to position myself correctly to pose for the x-ray. I asked him whether it would be dangerous to do an x-ray several times in a year. He assured me the radiation exposure is neither very high nor dangerous and he advised me to drink lots of water later after the x-ray. If I am not mistaken, he explained to me that drinking lots of water after the x-ray could help to wash away the enzymes. I didn't really catch what he had explained to me. After it was done, I went home because the x-ray report will only be released in the afternoon.

I went back to the hospital again in the afternoon to see the doctor. When I returned to the hospital, I was surprised to see an unusual crowd in the waiting area. Wow...even a private hospital can be very very crowded. I waited for about 20 minutes before the nurse called out my name.

I went in to her room and she told me that there is some slight improvement, after looking at the x-ray. I felt happy to hear that.

But I'm still worry about the yellow phlegm. So, she prescribed me an antibiotic (amoxycillin + clavulanate potassium). I do hope the antibiotic could kill those bacteria.

1st Avenue

1st Avenue is another redundant shopping mall in Penang. Just a kilometre away, we have the half filled Penang Times Square and now we have another new one here. Not many shops are opened yet, by the way.

I will just let you enjoy the pictures.

Some nice view from the top of 1st Avenue overlooking Georgetown.

Exams are over. It is time to read.

My exams for the semester have come to an end. So, it is time to read. No kidding.

Right after the exam, I headed to the library, took out a book, and enjoyed myself reading a book by the sea.

The University by the sea. Serious!

Actually I was trying to avoid the jam along the Jelutong Expressway. The last exam ended at 6pm and if I were to follow the crowd going home at that time, I will be stuck in the jam with them. 6pm is the usual rush hour and all roads leading to the Penang Bridge will be choked with traffic at that time. I learnt my mistake the previous semester and I decided to stay in the library.

With the exams done, now I could read a book that I have been waiting to do so for so long.

Case Study Research: Design and Methods by Robert K. Yin

I am interested to learn the philosophies of constructivism and interpretivism. In layman term, it means learning how to write a case study research. That's my holiday.

Child marriages. Is it ok?

Say, a 50 year-old man marrying a 12-year old girl? What do you think?

My social calling has long prompted me to blog on this but I reckon it's better to shut my mouth. Why? It's because it mostly touches on religious issues.

Some religious officials believe child marriage is a solution to avoid some 'social problems'. Yes, you can start rolling your eyes and smack yourself in the forehead.

Hence, I would like to direct you to an excellent writing by Marina Mahathir. She recently wrote an article in The Star titled Marriage is not about legalising sex. I strongly encourage you to read it to learn something (especially towards the end of the article).

What makes a good lecturer?

You can read an interesting post here where a lecturer in UTAR had to adapt to the spoon-feeding culture in that university. That post was written in 2006. Such culture is not just restricted to UTAR but it is prevalent throughout Malaysia especially in private colleges/universities.

I share her predicament as I faced a similar situation a few years back when I first started out as a lecturer. I, too, managed to adapt to this spoon-feeding culture after teaching for a few semesters and only then I received positive evaluations from my students. The positive evaluations were encouraging and motivating for me but honestly, I felt that this whole spoon-feeding teaching is not right. What to do...."if you can't beat them, join them!"

In short, to be a "good" lecturer, you have to spoonfeed your students. Yes, I am serious. You have to "teach" if you want to be a lecturer in Malaysia.

What must you do?
- You have to prepare very detailed notes.
- You have to teach very thoroughly on every single part of the syllabus.
- You have to point to them the important areas of the syllabus that will be examined in the exams.
- And most importantly, the notes/slides must be distributed days in advance before the class starts or else the students will not be able to follow your lessons.

We should encourage self-directed learning

We should encourage self-directed learning among Malaysians instead of relying on tuitions centres. Many Malaysian students tend to go to tuition centres when they are in secondary or primary schools. So, when they come to college, they are unable to cope because it requires independent learning on the part of the students. Unfortunately, these students demand lecturers to spoonfeed them.

So, gone are the days when lectures lecture. Instead, now lecturers (in especially private colleges) have to 'teach' instead of lecture. Proper notes/slides have to be handed out to students or else the students will complain. Lecturers have to teach every single part of the syllabus or else the students will complain.

I have heard stories how lecturers in overseas universities lecture. The lecturer will not distribute any notes/slides to the students but instead the students are expected to jot down important points on their own while the lecturer lectures in the lecture hall. Hence, the lecturers in those universities do not teach but they give lectures. Yes, that is what a lecture is all about! The Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary defined lecture as a formal talk on a serious or specialist subject. Attending a lecture is supposed to be like attending a talk.

In Malaysia, college students are indeed spoilt by having been spoonfed. Hence, many of these students are unable to adapt when it comes to a distance learning environment such as in Wawasan Open University because it requires independent learning. Over here, the lecturer does not give any lecture at all and all we have are just tutoring sessions delivered by the tutors.

Since there are no lectures at all (because it is a distance learning environment), some students here actually expect the tutors to teach them! To give in to those demands, many of the tutors became 'teachers' instead of tutors. The proper role of a tutor is to engage in an active interaction with the students instead of teaching the students slide by slide.

This is the sad case of our Malaysian educational environment, thanks to the proliferation of tuition centres.

Some parents just don't know how to raise their children

Just like my neighbour and their relatives. A gang of Ah Bengs and Ah Lians with gangsters' attitude.

A couple of years ago, a small boy and a small girl (a relative of my neighbour) threw some sweet wrappers on our porch. Hence, my mom scolded the two children for doing that. The father (a typical Ah Beng) came to know about it and instead of apologising and scolding his children, the Ah Beng scolded my mom. Wow! And they did not apologise. In the first place, the Ah Beng father does not live here at all, he is a relative of my neighbour.

Well, there are consequences when you don't discipline your child properly. It is because those children turned nastier because what they have seen that day implied that it is perfectly OK to throw stuff to your neighbour's porch.

The very next day, they threw eggs to our porch. Yes, eggs! Thankfully, this time, the Ah Beng father was not around. Instead, the grandma was around this time. So, the grandma had to apologise and she had to clean our porch for her grandchildren's wrongdoing. Only then, the grandma scolded the children.

This is an eye opener for me because now I understand why there are so many criminals today. It is because their parents just don't know how to raise them properly. Like father like son. I wonder what is going to happen to that two children in the future. Probably, they will end up just like another Ah Beng and Ah Lian.

I'm sure you have read cases like the Kugan's case or the Mat Rempit's case. When they do funny stuff at night, their parents don't seem to bother. Only when they are caught by the police, shot by the police, or beaten up dead in the lock-up, the mothers would come up and say he's innocent bla bla bla...and blame the police instead.

Well, at least now I have seen with my own eyes how these children are raised by their useless parents.

I love History Channel!

History Channel is my favourite channel of all time!

AXN, HBO, Star Movie, Max Cinema, Star World....would not even come close.

Why I like History Channel? It's because I love history. And yes, History was my favourite subject in school with Geography coming second.

Through the History Channel Asia, I have watched documentaries on the French Revolution, American Revolution, World War 2, Communism, Cultural Revolution, the life of Prophet Muhammed, P.Ramlee, Al-Maunah incident, and many many more.

My only wish is that if they could play documentaries on Jesus or Buddha but I think it will not be allowed to be screened in the History Channel Asia because Malaysia is a Muslim country. But at least, a lot of documentaries on Islam are shown and I have watched many of these documentaries. Watching these documentaries does not mean I will convert to Islam but it helps me to understand that religion because I'm always curious about it. Now, I understand many many many things.

I have also learnt a lot on communism. I remember the narrator mentioned that if China had not practised Communism, China would have been a superpower by the 1980s, instead of now. Yes, I agree. I watched the documentary and it shows that communism was a total failure. Communism may look good in theory but in practice, it just couldn't work.